Whispers of the Heart
by Cassidy Alice
Summary: Sometimes, Katara and Aang felt like an eternity wasn't long enough, but if they could spend it together, they knew it'd be worth it. (Collection of oneshots)
1. Axis

_A/N: Um...hello. Cassidy here again. XD I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, but I've been a bit preoccupied, so starting this new oneshot collection took me a while. In any case, I finally managed to find some time to write this and post it. I feel like my writing's a bit rusty, but hopefully this oneshot is decent. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't ATLA (unfortunately). ^^'_

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**I. Axis**

"Has anyone seen Aang?"

Katara's statement was met with several confused glances and a lengthy silence. Truthfully, none of the members seated around the table enjoying a batch of Iroh's finest tea _had_ actually seen the airbender. He'd disappeared sometime after their evening meal and hadn't been spotted since. They'd all assumed he'd gone off to meditate or to take a well-deserved nap, but none of them were quite sure just what the young Avatar was up to.

"He's probably sleeping," Sokka said, blowing on his tea. "I mean, he just defeated the most evil Firelord in history a week ago and we've all been too preoccupied with what to do next to really relax much. I'm sure the kid is just taking a nice long nap."

"But he's not in his room," Katara said, glancing over her shoulder at the sound of something outside. It was just Iroh walking towards the back door. "I haven't seen him in hours."

"I'm sure your boyfriend is just relaxing," Toph piped up, playing with a Pai Sho tile.

"He's not my boyfriend," Katara mumbled, blushing.

"Oh, really?" Sokka asked, teasing her. "Then why were you kissing him and being all mushy?"

A series of snickers and giggles went around the table. Katara sighed and sank down into a chair.

"We're not…I mean, I don't think…I didn't...," she stammered.

"What?" Sokka prodded.

The waterbender seemed at a loss for what to say. She spent a moment nervously fiddling with her hair and tried to think of how to explain herself. All eyes were on her and she fidgeted.

"You should know," Toph said suddenly, cutting Katara off before she even got a word in. "Aang's outside."

The waterbender was out of her seat so fast, it nearly fell over and she was out the door in a flash.

"Thanks, Toph." She called, waving behind them. The blind earthbender just smiled and continued playing with the Pai Sho tile.

Katara found Aang descending the steps of Iroh's teashop towards Appa who stood at the base. Glider in hand and with a small bag slung over his shoulder, the airbender seemed ready to leave and Katara was suddenly nervous and hurried after him.

"Aang, where are you going?" she demanded, hurrying towards him.

The airbender simply smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Nowhere in particular," he said, laughing softly.

"You're not…you're not leaving, are you?"

"No," he said, cheerfully.

"Then, what's in the bag?" Katara wondered.

"Apples," Aang replied, opening it for her to see.

"Oh."

The airbender grinned and tossed it up onto Appa's saddle and airbent himself up.

"Are you coming?" He wondered, flashing her a smile and extending his hand down to her.

Katara cast a glance back at the others inside before smiling up at Aang and allowing herself to be helped up.

"So," she asked, once they were airborne and Appa was flying over the rooftops of Ba Sing Se. "Where are we going?"

"Nowhere," was the airbender's simply reply as he crawled into the saddle and sat beside Katara.

The waterbender looked confused. "Then why'd you come out?"

"Appa just likes flying," he replied, tossing an apple to Katara. "So, I'm just letting him fly."

Katara laughed. "He's probably been feeling cooped up, hasn't he?"

Appa growled in affirmation and Katara giggled. Aang just grinned and flopped down.

"It's also nice to do some stargazing," he said, taking a bite of his apple. Katara lay down beside him and glanced up at the clear night sky. A full moon was sailing low overhead and the inky black sky was flecked with millions of stars, all twinkling brightly. Katara sighed in content and fixed her gaze on the stars as Appa flew on.

"Did the Air Nomads ever name the constellations?" she wondered, taking a bite out of her apple.

Aang nodded. "We used to use the stars to find our way back home from travels. See that one?" He pointed overhead to a large cluster of stars and Katara nodded. "That's the Sky Bison. That's the only one I can remember. My people had names for a lot of them, but I've forgotten."

Katara stared pensively at the sky for a moment, before speaking.

"I used to go stargazing with my parents sometimes, when I was young. Before the war really hit us, we'd do it almost daily and Gran Gran and my mom would tell me stories about how the constellations came to be. Unfortunately, I don't remember them all that well, but those nights were some of the best times of my life. After my mother died…we didn't do it very often." She became somber and Aang gave her an understanding smile and laced his fingers with hers. Katara was aware of her heart going a mile a minute and struggled to calm herself.

"Gyatso and I would name stars sometimes," Aang said, smiling fondly at the memory.

"After people?"

The airbender nodded. "He'd always say everyone had their own star and things like that, so sometimes we'd spend hours naming them. It seems like a lifetime ago."

"It does," Katara agreed.

Appa gave a soft roar and Katara peered over the saddle, surprised to find they were rather far from the teashop in the Upper Ring. The cluster of edifices gave way to grassy, rolling plains and Appa landed in the soft, green grass and flopped down, clearly content. Aang smiled and tossed him the remaining apples to munch on, before he helped Katara down. They found a nice spot to sit, some distance away from the sky bison, and resumed their stargazing.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Katara asked, at length.

"What?"

"Not doing anything," she said simply, turning to gaze at him.

Aang simply nodded and Katara sighed.

"Something wrong?" Aang wondered.

Katara just smiled. "No, just content. That's all."

Aang nodded. "Me too, but I doubt things will always be like this."

"What do you mean?"

The airbender shrugged. "There's still a lot that needs to be done."

"You don't have to do it alone, you know?" Katara said, keeping her gaze fixed on the stars above. "I can't speak for the others, but you've still got me and Sokka."

Aang sat upright and glanced at the waterbender. "You'd stay? But what about your family?"

"What about them?" Katara wondered, sitting upright and meeting his gaze.

"Won't you miss them?"

Katara giggled. "It's not like I'll never see them again. Besides, after everything we've done, I'm not so sure I can go back to the South Pole and be content just doing chores. And I couldn't just leave you guys."

Aang smiled.

"In any case," the waterbender continued, feeling somewhat reckless. "After what happened…I'm not so sure I want to leave."

Aang knew she was referring to the kiss and was suddenly grateful that the night hid the telltale blush on his face.

"Does that mean…are we…?" Aang stammered.

Katara nervously fiddled with a lock of her hair. "I guess so," she said shyly, smiling at him.

Aang grinned, thinking that he must have looked like an idiot at the moment. He felt too elated to really care, though.

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, sitting among the waving grass and watching the stars twinkle erratically above them. Katara was pensive, however, recalling something her grandmother had told her months ago, when she and Sokka first decided to help Aang.

"_Now your destinies are intertwined with his._"

Katara realized there was more truth in that now, than ever before. She wasn't so sure intertwined was the correct word to be used though. Revolve seemed like a better choice, she mused, chuckling to herself. It seemed lately, that she couldn't envision a future without Aang and the others, try as she might. She was fiercely glad things turned out the way she did, but it left her wondering.

"Aang?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it selfish of me?" Katara wondered. "To be happy, I mean, that you're here with us now instead of having been with the other airbenders?"

"To be honest," Aang admitted. "I'm glad I am. If you had asked me the day you found me, whether or not I wanted to go back and change things, I'd have probably said yes in a heartbeat. But now, I'm not so sure. I'd like to think I could, but a part of me just doesn't want to."

"Why not?"

"You said it yourself once: there's a reason everything happened the way it did; it was meant to be this way. Besides, if going back means forgetting you guys and losing such wonderful friends, then I'm not so sure I'd want to go, even if I really miss Gyatso and the others."

He gave her a sad smile and Katara laced her fingers with his and squeezed his hands in reassurance.

"Why'd you ask?" the airbender wondered.

Katara shrugged, absently playing with a few blades of grass. "It just felt odd to me," she explained. "I felt selfish, being so happy because you're here with us now. When we started travelling together, if there had been some way for you to go back and change things, I'd have probably urged you to go. But, if something like that happened now, I'm not sure I could."

"Well, I don't think you have to worry, because I'm not sure if I would," he replied, laughing softly.

Katara smiled gratefully and turned her attention to Appa. The giant bison had long since finished his snack and had taken to playing in the grassy plains of the Outer Ring. Somewhere in the distance, a herd of fox antelope moved closer to them to graze and Appa gave a soft roar and came to sit beside the airbender and the waterbender. They spent some time watching the herd in silence. It was only Katara's stifled yawn that alerted Aang of the time.

"I guess we better head back." He said, at last.

"I guess so," Katara said somewhat reluctantly, clambering on to Appa.

The flight back passed mostly in silence. Katara was pensive and Aang was simply watching as the rooftops of Ba Sing Se drifted past them. Katara seemed rather preoccupied with something and Aang was tempted to ask her what she was pondering, but the waterbender beat him to it.

"It's funny how quickly everything changed," she mused. "A few months ago, my future looked pretty bleak, being stuck in the South Pole, but now I feel like there's endless possibilities. There's so much we can do."

The airbender noted, somewhat amused, that she had said _we_.

"We?" He echoed, raising an eyebrow, questioningly.

Katara blushed. "Well…yeah," she laughed. "You didn't think…?"

She trailed off.

"What?" the Avatar prodded, gently.

"You didn't think I'd just leave you, did you?" She asked suddenly, with a confidence she didn't know she possessed.

"I don't really know," the airbender admitted. "I hadn't really thought that far ahead."

Truthfully, he had assumed that there was some unspoken agreement between them. After all, Katara _had_ kissed him, so he'd assumed she'd intended to stick around, but having her confirm it was infinitely better than simply assuming.

"Well, I'm staying," Katara declared, feeling somewhat emboldened.

"I'm glad," the airbender replied, smiling softly.

Katara smiled back and unconsciously sighed in content again. It was comforting to know that wherever their future lead, they would be together. She wasn't quite sure just _when_ she'd fallen so in love that her very future hinged on Aang's but it was true all the same. Somehow, she simply couldn't imagine a future that didn't include him (and the others) and, though she didn't know it yet, the young airbender couldn't either. There were guaranteed to be ups and downs; of that much Aang and Katara were certain. But together, it seemed as if they could face anything. As long as they had each other, perhaps they really could.

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_I hope it wasn't too bad. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for reading! _

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	2. Lullaby

_A/N: It's a miracle: Cassidy's updating! Truthfully, I wouldn't be updating this fast, but this oneshot had already been written beforehand, so I had it ready to post. I wrote it some time ago for an ATLA contest on a forum; it's been sitting on my computer since then so I thought I'd post it here. It may not be canon compliant since some information regarding the characters hasn't been released but, all the same, I hope it's all right. Enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. ^^'_

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**II. Lullaby**

Aang had never been more thankful to be home. After a particularly long day of tiring work, he was glad to have some time off to spend with his family. He knew Katara needed the help too. It was no easy feat caring for a five month old infant and running a household, while doing everything else he couldn't. Aang had been too busy playing peacemaker as of late to really be home and help her, so nearly everything had fallen to Katara. She bore it all with a cheerful façade, but the airbender didn't need to read her mind to know she was exhausted. Lately, her exhaustion was beginning to show too. He couldn't remember the last time either of them had a proper meal or had actually gotten a good night's sleep. It seemed like they didn't spend any time together apart from when they stayed up to tend to Kya, so now that he actually had some time off on his hands, he intended to make the most of it.

The airbender's hopes were instantly dashed, however, the moment he set foot in the house. The evening sunlight was filtering in through the window, lighting up the sitting room with a bright, reddish glow and the bedrooms with a soft bluish purple light. Katara was fast asleep on the settee and the house was silent, signaling that their daughter was still asleep. The only other sound audible was that of Momo's snores coming from one of the bedrooms. Katara was never one for napping, so Aang was sure something must have been wrong. Deciding to let her sleep for a bit longer, the airbender silently made his way to Kya's room, surprised to find the lemur sleeping at the foot of Kya's bassinet. Kya herself was sleeping fitfully and woke within seconds of her father's arrival. Before she had the time to cry, the airbender scooped her up and carried her out. He was surprised to discover that Kya was running a fever, but he supposed if it was truly a cause for worry, Katara wouldn't have been dozing off; it was a well-known fact that the waterbender had a tendency to keep vigil over her friends and family if they were sick enough and the situation warranted it. Aang was tempted to wake the waterbender up, but didn't have the heart to do so. His daughter, however, had no qualms whatsoever about waking her mother up and after a few sips of milk and two spoons of mashed fruit, she was giggling and cooing loud enough for Katara to hear her. It wasn't until the tiny little girl had emitted a rather loud sneeze, that the waterbender made her presence known.

"You'd better be careful around her," Katara said, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palm. "She's running a fever. You could catch it too."

"I'll take my chances," the airbender said, planting a kiss to her forehead. He frowned when he noticed Katara seemed to have a fever as well.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Exhausted," she admitted, taking Kya from him. "Kya hardly slept last night and she's been cranky all day, though that may have more to do with her being sick than not getting enough sleep."

"She was up all night?" Aang asked, genuinely surprised. He was normally a light sleeper and often woke up when Kya cried, but he didn't remember hearing her last night.

"All night long," Katara commented, attempting to feed Kya the remnants of her meal. "She wouldn't fall asleep."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

Katara stifled a cough and gave him a tired smiled. "You were exhausted and you needed the rest. Besides, I know I haven't exactly been the ideal wife these last few days, but taking care of Kya has really been wearing me out."

Aang chuckled. "I can imagine. But, you know I'm more than willing to help."

Katara yawned and deftly moved to the side as Kya managed to grab a chunk of her dinner and hurled it at her mother.

"I know," the waterbender said. "But you've got enough to worry about as it is. I figured the least I could do was take care of Kya, but I guess now we're both burdens, huh?"

"No," The airbender murmured, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her chocolate tresses. "I wouldn't say you're both burdens."

"We're not exactly much help either," Katara chuckled, coughing. Sighing, she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and turned to face her husband. "I'm sorry I don't have dinner ready again. I was going to take a nap, but I guess I just fell asleep and lost track of time."

Aang gave a small smile. "It's alright," he sighed. "I'll take care of it."

Unconsciously sighing again, the airbender began preparing a simple but satisfying meal. He wished Katara had prepared something because his cooking was nowhere near as good as hers, but he knew it was unfair of him to ask her to do more than she already was. But, a small part of him couldn't help but wish that she'd been able to cook; they hadn't had a proper meal for a week and he'd been looking forward to having one for some time now. But, he wasn't selfish enough to ask Katara to do much of anything when she was sick.

Their dinner was a simple affair that consisted mainly of rice and vegetables. By the time Aang had it ready, Kya had already finished her meal and had fallen asleep again, leaving Aang and Katara to themselves. They hardly spoke to each other and the silence was punctuated only by the sound of Katara coughing. When their meal was done, Katara hurriedly took care of the dishes and the table while Aang set off to procure a messenger hawk to carry a letter. He had a suspicion that when the Council of Nations read his letter of absence they wouldn't be too thrilled, but he figured a day off wouldn't hurt and Katara would be rather happy about being able to spend time with him. In any case, any time he got to spend with both Katara and Kya was always a plus and as he hadn't been doing much of that as of late, he figured taking on day off to take care of his "two favorite girls" wouldn't kill the Council.

Naturally, Aang had no intention of telling Katara he'd taken time off just because she and Kya were sick, but the waterbender knew him all too well and was able to guess the truth. While she was extremely grateful that her husband was willing to stay at home with them, she thought it was a foolish idea.

"You'll have so much to do when you back," She pointed out, as they prepared for bed. "We don't need to add to your burden."

"You won't," he promised, smiling at her. "Trust me."

Katara simply crawled into bed and curled up beside him with a soft smile on her face. "You say that now," she laughed. "But when Kya keeps you up all night, let's see what you think then."

"I highly doubt she'll keep me up all night," the airbender responded. "Kya's not that type of baby."

Aang soon found he was wrong a short while later, after they had fallen asleep, when Katara woke him up with a gentle kick.

"Aang?"

"Hmm?" He asked, blinking drowsily in the silver moonlight the shone into their room.

Katara shifted in his arms and yawned. "Baby," she muttered.

"I hear her," he mumbled, stumbling out of bed as Kya's wailing grew more pronounced. "I'll take care of it."

Katara managed a sleepy "thank you" before dozing off again. Aang, however, was denied the luxury of returning to bed. As soon as Aang carried her out of her room, she seemed much interested in doing everything other than sleeping. So, for a full two hours, the airbender was forced to play with his daughter. When she seemed sleepy enough to fall asleep, the airbender took her back to her room and placed her in her bassinet, but the instant she was placed in it, she began to cry again. Aang hurried took her out again and another round of playing ensued. Thus, the cycle continued until dawn when Katara woke up and, finding herself alone in the room, sought out Aang. She found a rather sleepy Avatar attempting to soothe a wailing Kya and failing miserably.

"She didn't sleep much, did she?" The waterbender wondered, taking Kya from Aang.

"Not a wink since she woke up," he replied, suppressing a yawn.

Katara giggled, drowsily. "Told you she'd keep you up all night."

"Could've been worse," the airbender admitted. "She could've kept you up too."

"She does it anyway," Katara said, smiling up at him.

"So, any ideas on how to make her fall asleep?"

"She likes lullabies," the waterbender said. "It doesn't always work, but it's worth a try."

Aang chuckled and simply listened as Katara sang the few Water Tribe lullabies she knew. In her mother's arms, Kya seemed to be falling asleep, but the minute Katara was done, the crying began anew. Katara shot a desperate glance at Aang and the airbender tried recalling some of the songs he knew. Kya seemed content as long as someone was singing so, between the two of them, the airbender and waterbender exhausted every song from every nation they knew. By early morning, however, they were out of songs and little Kya still seemed cranky and unwilling to fall asleep.

"I give up," Katara groaned, curling up beside Aang on the settee and burying her face in his shoulder. "At this rate, she won't go to sleep until morning."

"Well, I do know one more song," the airbender admitted, sheepishly. "But, it's not really a song…"

"Well, we're desperate enough to try anything at this point, so you might as well as sing it if it'll get her to get to sleep."

Aang nodded and began singing, and Katara could only laugh as she heard the old, familiar tune about two lovers, forbidden from one another and a secret tunnel. In her lap, Kya cooed drowsily and by the end of the song, she was fast asleep. Katara blinked at her daughter in surprised and gazed up at Aang who seemed equally stunned.

"I can't believe that worked," Katara admitted. "She's asleep."

"Finally," Aang muttered, smiling softly. Katara could only giggle and the airbender playfully stuck his tongue out at her. A sudden thought struck him, though, and he turned to his wife with a semi-serious expression on his face.

"Do you remember how you said taking care of you and Kya is a burden?" he asked.

Katara just hummed in affirmation as he wrapped his arms around her.

"What about it?" She wondered, snuggling closer to Aang and mindful of little Kya sleeping in her lap.

"The first few weeks after Kya was born, I used to hate having to wake up in the middle of the night and feed her and change her and put her back to sleep. As much as I loved her, I really thought it was a chore. But now, no matter how tired or sleepy I am, I honestly don't mind it. I actually kind of like it. I probably spend more time with her this way, anyway."

Katara smiled. "Seems that way. But what has this got to do with anything?"

Aang shrugged. "Nothing, really. Just that, I don't really consider taking care of you two a burden. After all, how can doing something for the one you love be considered a burden?"

Katara coughed, but smiled. "Just wait a couple of years or so, when we have another little bundle of joy. You'll think differently."

"No," the airbender said confidently, kissing her gently. "I doubt I will."

In a few hours, Kya would be awake again and he'd probably have to change her, feed her and play with her and perhaps, he'd have to sing the same song about two lovers and a secret tunnel nearly a dozen times before putting her to sleep. Perhaps, while she slept, Aang would have to cook in Katara's stead and make sure she was resting instead of running about the house, doing chores. And perhaps, he'd have other work to do as well, but in spite of the mountain load of work that seemed to await him, he was content. Another man may have grumbled and complained about having to wait, hand and foot, on his wife and young daughter, but the airbender was more than happy to do so. They were his, after all, and he loved and cherished them more than anything in the world, so nothing he ever did for them would ever be a burden. But, if it were to be described as such, then the airbender reasoned that perhaps, not all burdens were bad, and that perhaps, just perhaps, there were some burdens he could get used to.

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_Thanks for reading and as always, thank you so much to those who reviewed! You guys are wonderful! :)_

_~ Cassie_

_P.S. As always, requests are welcome! I can't promise I'll do them justice, but I'm more than willing to try! _


	3. Precious

_A/N: New chapter! This is actually a piece I wrote for the holiday fic contest over on The Korra Connection and it did surprisingly well considering how fast I whipped it up. Hope it's decent. Happy readings!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. ^^_

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**III. Precious**

Katara awoke to a warm, golden sunlight spilling into the bedroom. Turning over onto her side, she buried her face in her pillow and wrapped the mass of thick blankets tightly around herself to ward off the chilly autumn air that seemed to seep in from the cracks. The other side of the bed was empty as usual and, sighing to herself, Katara threw back the covers and stood up, with the intention of finding her husband. Normally, Katara loved this time of year, for the flurry of activity kept her busy and occupied, and there was nothing quite as fun as celebrating a string of holidays, starting with their anniversary, one after another. In years past, their celebrations had been grand; there was always some party to attend or some gathering to host. But this year was different. With the construction of Air Temple Island and Republic City underway, Katara doubted there would be much celebrating going on. Aang was under a lot of pressure to get several things done before winter set in and Katara herself hadn't been feeling well, lately. Both of them had been far too tired to really think about the upcoming festivities, but now that she had a moment to herself, Katara wondered what they would do.

I don't suppose Aang would want to do much of anything other than sleep, she mused, throwing back the blankets and stumbling out of bed to get ready. It was true the airbender had been working rather hard lately. Even though plans for Republic City were coming along smoothly, there was still quite a bit of work to be done and, Katara noted rather ruefully, Aang was looking rather frazzled and stressed out.

By the time Katara had finished her morning routine and wandered to the kitchen for breakfast, Aang was clearing away the remnants of his meal. Already dressed and with a bundle of papers in one hand, the airbender seemed ready to leave and Katara suppressed a sigh, recalling that the airbender had mentioned something about a three day journey to the Fire Nation to discuss something with Zuko. She'd completely forgotten about that until now.

"Leaving so soon?" She asked, smiling sadly at Aang.

He nodded, smiling apologetically. "The sooner I leave, the sooner I'll come back," he reminded her, gently kissing her forehead.

Katara sighed. "I suppose so. I just wish you wouldn't work so hard."

"It's only for a little while longer," he pointed out, grinning. Katara couldn't resist smiling along with him. "Things will settle down soon. You'll see."

"I know," the waterbender said, wrapping her arms around him. "But this place is so boring without you. I'll have nothing to do but chores and watching the construction crew build the temple. It's not much fun."

"I can imagine," Aang said, hugging her close. "But I promise I'll be back in time for our anniversary and we can do something fun the day after."

"Goodness knows we need it," Katara laughed. "We haven't done anything exciting since the summer solstice, when we travelled to Kyoshi, and that was months ago."

Aang chuckled. "I know. Maybe we could go back to the South Pole or Ba Sing Se, or perhaps…"

"Why don't you get this meeting over with first?" Katara suggested, laughing softly. "Then we can worry about where we go."

"Good idea. I suppose I'd better get going, huh?"

Katara nodded. "Yeah, I guess so, if you ever want to come back on time."

"You're sure you'll be okay by yourself? You don't look so good."

Katara playfully stuck her tongue out at him. "I'll be fine. I'm a healer; I'll live. If anything happens, I'll be sure to ask the Acolytes for help."

The Avatar leaned down to kiss his wife. "I'll be back soon. Try and stay out of trouble," he teased.

Katara grinned. "I'll try, but no promises," she retorted. Aang's musical laugh echoed in her ears as he airbent himself on Appa. And, with a wave and a gust of wind, he was gone.

Katara wandered slowly back into the house, feeling rather lonely and dejected all of a sudden. She would have gone with Aang in a heartbeat, but the way she was feeling, she didn't know if she could last half the flight to the Fire Nation. Besides, she'd have been of no use on the trip and, in any case, she had a better reason for staying behind: their anniversary. It was but three days away and she'd yet to find something suitable to give Aang. Although it was their second anniversary and neither of them really felt the need to make a big deal about it, Katara wanted to give Aang something special. What that something special was, she hadn't quite figured out yet.

Somewhere among the clouds, speeding over the azure waters of the ocean, a certain airbender was doing the same thing. With their anniversary only three days away, Aang knew he had little time to get Katara a gift. It certainly didn't help that he had very little time to look for something special and that he had no idea what that special something would be. Accordingly, when he found some free time between meetings to wander to the market, he had no idea where to begin looking for a suitable present. There was always jewelry, but Katara didn't wear much and didn't seem to care for it. There were plenty of fancy dresses to choose from, but Aang didn't want rely on his taste; he knew nothing of dresses and the latest styles and much rather preferred Katara to pick out something she liked. So, after an hour of wandering about, he returned to Zuko's palace empty handed and unwillingly to sit through more tedious meetings regarding the construction of the new city.

The meeting was a long, drawn out affair in which nearly every type of official under the sun had gathered to voice concerns regarding construction. Aang had never been involved with building a city before, so he was slightly taken aback by the sheer amount of people involved in the project, but was glad for the help nonetheless. He and Zuko weren't very knowledgeable about the subject despite doing some reading, so it certainly helped having numerous others to advise them. Of course, with so many officials, it was always a chore to get anything done and what little time the airbender had to look for a gift for his wife was cut even shorter.

Admittedly, it wasn't until the day of his departure that Aang found time to return to the market to find something suitable for Katara. He still hadn't the faintest idea what to give her, so he spent a good two hours wandering around and glancing at items in shops and stalls. He had all but given up getting something for her when something caught his eye. Making his way to a small shop tucked between two fruit vendors, the airbender ducked into the entryway to inspect a small glass figurine of the Painted Lady, no doubt sculpted by firebending. The glass was stained to resemble her outfit and her face was painted with familiar designs. Smiling softly to himself, the airbender purchased it without a second thought, feeling rather pleased with himself. He couldn't wait to see Katara's reaction and spent the entire flight back picturing just how happy she'd be to see the familiar figurine.

Back on Air Temple Island, Katara herself was feeling rather cheerful. The past three days had been spent conversing with the Acolytes and pouring over the few old and incomplete books Aang had managed to salvage from the Air Temples, to perfect a fruit pie. After hours spent in the kitchen each day, she was pleased to note she could make a decent fruit pie. Smiling to herself, Katara set to work, making a new pie. This one, unlike the others she had baked previously, would be her gift to Aang and she worked tirelessly to make sure it was perfect. Thus, when Aang finally landed on Air Temple Island, he was quite surprised Katara wasn't there to greet him. It wasn't until she had set the pie in the oven to bake and when she heard Aang call her name that she rushed out to greet him.

"I'm so glad you're back," she laughed, smiling up at him. "Happy anniversary!"

Aang simply laughed in response and kissed her.

"I brought you a present," he said, smiling at her.

"It'll have to wait until after dinner," Katara said. "You look like you could use a good meal."

Aang chuckled. "Yeah, I probably could."

Their dinner was a quick, simple meal. Katara admitted that after working so long on her present, she hadn't been up to making an extravagant meal, but Aang reassured her that he much rather preferred a small, simple meal than something grand that required a lot of work and left Katara exhausted.

"Besides," he said, his eyes twinkling. "The sooner we finish, the sooner I can give you your present."

Katara simply laughed and allowed him to help her clear the table.

When their meal was finally finished, Aang presented her with an oddly shaped package. Katara stared at it quizzically before her gaze flicked back up to meet her husband's.

"I found it in the Fire Nation," he said, grinning at her. Katara slowly undid the wrappings and was shocked at what she found. Resting against the wrapping paper, were shards of broken glass, some stained and others painted. The only recognizable feature was the smiling face of the Painted Lady, staring back at her.

"It was supposed to be a statue of the Painted Lady," Aang said dejectedly, once he had gotten over the shock of finding his gift shattered into a hundred different pieces. "I should have taken better care of it. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Katara said, hugging him. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault. All the same, I really appreciate it."

Aang gave her a sad smile.

"I have something that might cheer you up," the waterbender said, disappearing into the kitchen. Aang heard the clanging of several utensils and a groan of frustration from Katara before she walked back into the room with something dark brown in her hands.

"What is it?" Aang wondered, staring quizzically at the dish she had placed before him.

Katara looked glum. "It was supposed to be a fruit pie, but I burnt it," she sighed, burying her face in her hands. "I was so glad you were back, I guess I forgot about taking it out of the oven on time. I'm sorry."

The airbender gently removed her hands from her face and offered her a comforting smile. "Don't be. They're not easy to get right, but I'm sure it was delicious. I'm just sorry I have nothing to give you for our anniversary."

Katara blinked. "But you have, Aang."

"I know, but it was broken."

"No, silly. Not the statue," she said. "You've given me so much more."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked.

Katara laughed softly. "When I was little, I remember watching my mom and dad and wondering if anyone could and would ever love me the way they loved each other. It wasn't until after we won the war that I realized maybe someone could. As cheesy as it sounds, your love is the greatest gift of all and, when I have that, some silly little figurine hardly matters at all."

Aang chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. "You've always had it."

"You know," Katara said, looking rather thoughtful all of a sudden. "There's more."

"Is there?" Aang wondered.

Katara nodded. "If we're going to be all cheesy and sentimental, there is."

"And what is it?"

"Sokka's actually pointed it out to me. He says you make me laugh more than I ever did before. He thinks I'm too chipper now."

"Well, I'm glad. Seeing you smile and laugh is much better than anything else."

Katara grinned. "There's one other thing."

"And what would that be?"

"The gift of life."

The waterbender wriggled out of his grasp and hurried off to their room, with Aang following close behind. He was trying to make sense of what she had meant, but its significance wasn't revealed until she placed something soft in his hands. It was a partially sown little frock, the kind mothers generally used on young infants and the airbender's eyes widened in surprise.

"Is this…do you mean…are you…are we really…?" He stammered.

Katara nodded, beaming up at him.

"Katara, that's wonderful!" He exclaimed, picking her up and twirling her around. The waterbender's musical laugh echoed throughout the chamber.

"You've already given me so much," Katara said, smiling sincerely. "I don't need anything else, so please don't feel bad about the broken statue."

"Only if you don't feel bad about the fruit pie," he replied. "Honestly, this is a better gift. How long have you known?"

"Only recently," she admitted. "I guess it took me a while to realize it. I wasn't really ill; just suffering from morning sickness."

"I'm glad it wasn't something more severe."

Katara smiled. For a while, the two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence, punctuated only by the sound of broken glass clinking. Katara watched the airbender fiddle with a few pieces he'd found and suppressed a laugh.

"Don't worry about that," she said, taking the pieces away from him. "I honestly don't mind that it's broken. Like I said, you've already given me so much. I couldn't possibly need anything more when everyday with you is a gift."

"You really feel that way?"

Katara nodded. "I do," she said, sincerely.

"I thought I was the only one," the Avatar admitted. "I'm convinced I'm the luckiest person alive."

"You can't be. I am."

Aang playfully stuck out his tongue. "Are not."

"Am too."

Aang pretended to pout and Katara laughed.

"In all seriousness though," she said. "I really do believe I am. Sometimes, I think I wouldn't even mind not having a roof over my head or food in my stomach as long as I have you. It sounds so cheesy when I say it, but I believe it all the same."

"The feeling's mutual then," the airbender said, lacing his fingers with hers. "I don't suppose anything would really matter as long as we have each other. But, for the sake of our baby, I'd like to keep a roof over our heads, if it's all the same to you."

Katara giggled. "A wise idea," she murmured, yawning softly. "I'm glad you're back, Aang."

"Me too."

Again, a comfortable silence descended upon them and Katara, feeling rather tired suddenly, crawled into bed. Aang, who had followed suit, realized she was probably exhausted after all she had done for their anniversary and thought about finishing some of the chores for her, but he didn't really feel like getting up at the moment. In any case, Katara looked rather pensive and the airbender was curious as to what she was thinking about.

"Something wrong?" he wondered.

Katara shook her head. "Not at all. I was just marveling how presents come in all sorts of forms. When I was little, I dreamed of living in giant house and marrying some waterbender who was devoted to me and having lots of little waterbending kids. None of it came true, but I don't care."

"What does that have to do with presents?" Aang asked, slightly confused.

"None of it came true, because of a gift I got."

Aang raised an eyebrow. "Who gave you this gift and what was it?"

She shrugged. "The spirits perhaps? Fate? Who knows? But it was the greatest gift of all: a strange boy in an iceberg."

"I don't know whether I should be flattered that you consider me your greatest gift or insulted that you called me strange," Aang teased.

"Either way, it was the greatest gift I've gotten," Katara said, nestling against him. "I wouldn't trade you for the world."

Aang simply smiled. It was funny how gifts came in all sorts of forms. Growing up, the only gifts he'd seen had been of the wrapped variety, the kind given to loved ones on special occasions. But, as Katara had said, life was a gift. Every day he spent with her, every memory they made and every moment they shared was special, a treasure to be cherished forever. Aang had gotten a lot of gifts in his lifetime, but each and every one paled in comparison to Katara's love. There had never been and never would be any gift more valuable to him that that and he knew Katara felt the same. And, as he watched her drift into a peaceful slumber beside him, he knew it would always be so.

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_Thanks for reading and as always, thank you all so much for all the reviews and the support! You're all wonderful! :D_

_~ Cassie_


	4. Winter Wonderland

_A/N: New chapter! This one was also written a while ago like the previous chapters, but I hope it's decent. Since not a lot of information regarding certain characters has been released, this may not be canon compliant, but all the same, I hope it's enjoyable! Happy readings!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. ^^'_

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**Winter Wonderland**

It was unbelievably cold.

Curling up under the covers of her bed, it was all Katara could think about as she struggled to get warm again. Growing up in the South Pole, she was used to frigid temperatures and the bitter cold which chapped and stung, but here on Air Temple Island, winters were considerably milder. That wasn't to say they didn't get any snow at all (because they did), but they certainly didn't get anything like the blizzards in the South Pole. Having been acclimated to the weather in the Southern Water Tribe, she figured the winters on Air Temple Island would be mild for her, but the weather this particular morning was proving her wrong. Try as she might, she couldn't seem to get warm. It was as if the chilly winter air was seeping in through all nooks and crannies. It didn't help that the house was large either, and required a great deal of heat to warm. Sighing to herself, Katara wrapped the covers tightly around herself and scooted closer to Aang, shivering a bit as she did so. The airbender felt her shift and opened his eyes, blinking drowsily in the hazy gray light filtering in from the window.

"Cold?" He asked softly, wrapping an arm around her.

Katara nodded. "I feel like we're in the South Pole and I've forgotten to wear my parka. Why is it so cold?"

Aang chuckled and simply held her tighter, shivering himself in the cold air. "Maybe it'll get a bit warmer later on? It's still fairly early."

"Maybe," Katara murmured, dozing off. "I hope so. It's really…"

The door to their room was suddenly thrown open and the patter of footsteps was heard. Groaning, Katara buried her face in her pillow while Aang muttered something about blizzards and snowmen.

"It snowed," Bumi cried, jumping on top of his parents. "It snowed!"

"That's nice," Aang mumbled. "But it's too early to go out."

Someone crawled under their covers and Katara gave a yelp and tumbled off the bed when Kya's head popped up between them.

"There's so much snow, Mommy," she cried, giggling at Katara who now lay sprawled on the floor, tangled in the bed covers. "And I let Tenzin out of the crib. He wanted to play."

"That's very thoughtful of you, sweetie, but you should have waited for one of us to come," Katara said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as Tenzin trotted over to her, shrieking with delight.

"I'm up already," Katara laughed, scooping up her little son. "No need to scream."

"Daddy, can we build a snowman? Please, oh please, can we?" Kya begged.

"I wanna build a snowman," Bumi added. "Can we, Daddy? Can we?"

"We'll see," the airbender said, laughing as Bumi attempted to sit on his shoulders. He gently pried his son off of him and set him down. "Maybe a little later."

"So-man," Tenzin cried and Kya giggled.

"No, silly. It's called a _snowman_."

"So-man," Tenzin repeated and Kya giggled again.

"Someone's learning to talk fast," Katara said, winking at her youngest son.

"I talked fastest," Bumi said, grinning at his mother.

"Is that an understatement or what?" Aang muttered, shaking his head and smiling.

Katara laughed, setting Tenzin down and scooping Kya off the bed. "After breakfast, maybe you three can go out to play."

"I wanna go now," Bumi protested.

"Not until you're ready," Katara said, making the bed.

"And then can we go?" Kya wondered.

Katara nodded and Kya scurried over to Bumi to whisper something in his ear. Bumi nodded vigorously and he and Kya darted out of their parents' room only to return five minutes later, wearing horribly mismatched clothes.

"Ready," they chorused. Aang and Katara did their best to stifle their laughter, but it was too much of an effort to do so and they burst out laughing anyway.

"You can't go out in that," Katara said. "You'll freeze to death."

"Not if we wear our parkas," Kya objected.

"You're wearing your summer clothes," Katara pointed out.

Bumi groaned and Kya glared at him.

"Come on," Katara laughed, prodding them towards their room. "Let's get you into warmer clothes."

"Ma," Tenzin cried, pouting. "Out!"

"You too, little guy," the airbender said, scooping up Tenzin and following the others out. "You can go out as soon as you're in something warmer."

"Mommy, will you teach me how to bend snow?" Kya demanded as Katara pulled a sweater over her head. "Please, Mommy, will you?"

"We'll see," was Katara's response.

"I wanna build a snow castle," Bumi said, trying to wriggle free from the sweater Katara was trying to force on him.

"Hold still, Bumi," she admonished trying to get the sweater on him. Laughing, he broke free of her grip and darted to Aang's side, clinging to his father's leg.

"I don't wanna wear it," he said. "It's itchy."

"Then you can just stay inside then," was Katara's response.

"I wanna go out," Bumi whined. "Daddy…"

Aang smiled down at him. "Sorry, little guy. You can't go anywhere unless you're properly dressed."

Bumi grumbled inaudibly and allowed Katara to help him into his sweater.

"Tenzin looks like my dolly," Kya giggled, staring at her brother's outfit which consisted of a sweater with matching indoor slippers Katara had made for him. Tenzin giggled with her and clapped his hands.

"Now can we go?" Bumi pleaded.

"Breakfast first," Katara said, prodding him towards the kitchen. "After that you can stay out as long as you like, if the weather holds."

Bumi gasped in delight and hurried after his parents.

Breakfast that morning was, quite possibly, the best breakfast the kids had ever had. The storm had snowed in many, in and around Republic City so Aang was spared from having to fly to the city for work that day and as that sort of thing didn't happen too often, it was treated as a celebration of sorts. Instead of preparing a proper breakfast as she normally did, Katara had set out a small platter of cookies and served it with honeyed milk. She wasn't in the habit of giving her children cookies for breakfast, but having Aang home for an entire day was cause enough for a celebration, and she intended to celebrate. It may have also been the cheery atmosphere that seemed to be infecting everyone. Though it was still fairly early, several of the Air Acolytes had been spotted with their families on the far sides of the island, where numerous snow drifts had formed to create the perfect place for sledding. Despite being an ordinary winter day, there was a festive atmosphere and a good many on the island and in the city were out and about, having fun in the snow. Bumi was itching to go out and play, but he seemed torn between playing in the snow and eating breakfast; after all, it wasn't everyday he was allowed to have cookies for breakfast. Katara seemed to sense his distress and laughed.

"Here," she said, helping her older son into his parka and wrapping a scarf around him as Kya slipped on her mittens. "You can go out now if you like."

Bumi threw his arms around her and scurried outside with his sister following close behind. Tenzin was clamoring to follow his older brother and sister so Katara helped him into his parka and set him down to slip on his boots and his mittens. Aang was trying, and meeting with little success, to get Tenzin to wear his scarf but his youngest son just kept throwing it off.

"No 'carf," Tenzin trilled, giggling as his father retrieved it from the floor where he had cast it aside.

"Sorry," Katara said, snatching the little one up, and rapidly tying the scarf around him. "Mommy's orders."

Tenzin attempted to pry it off, but Aang slipped on his tiny mittens before he could and gently prodded him towards the door. He trotted off, but seemed reluctant to follow his older siblings out. Cautiously, he bent down and reached out to touch the snow, but recoiled at the cold ice and darted back to his father's side, clinging to his leg. Katara laughed, slipping into her parka.

"It's just snow," Aang said, beckoning for him to follow.

Tenzin shook his head, vigorously. "Cold," he chirped.

"You'll like it," Katara promised, trying to coax him out. "Come on."

Tenzin shook his head and refused to move, though his parents were already out and knee deep in snow.

"Come on, Tenzin," Bumi hollered, coming up behind his parents. "Don't you wanna play?"

Tenzin nodded again, but refused to set foot out of the house. Aang couldn't help chuckling at the adorable expression of fear on Tenzin's face. He had been too young to play in the snow last winter, so this was his first time venturing out, but he found his son's nervous antics adorable. Tenzin would stick one foot out, but immediately recoiled when it came in contact with the powdery substance. Katara was trying to coax him out, but he didn't seem interested in joining them, even if "Mommy and Daddy were having lots of fun."

At last, Katara gave up. "Alright then, little guy. Looks like we're going back in. You can stay out here with the kids if you'd like, Aang."

"Just give him some more time," Aang chuckled. "He'll come around."

Katara smiled and set off to find Kya, but she didn't make it very far before Tenzin called out for her. When she turned around, he had one foot on the snow and was clinging to his father's hand, his blue eyes wide with wonder. Clinging to his mother with his other hand, he slowly left the house and ventured outside.

Beyond the confines of the house, the whole world was covered in a blanket of white that sparkled when rays of hazy sunlight touched upon the surface. Nearly every inch of the island was covered in snow and snowdrifts peppered island. Kya and Bumi had already started sledding and Tenzin just watched them dart up and down the snowdrifts as he held on to his parents' hands. At the edge of the island, the waves pounded rhythmically against the snow coated shores and a few small chunks of ice were melting in the bay waters. Above them, several sky bison were patrolling the skies while some were trying to coax the young calves into frolicking in the snow or flying. A few lemurs were playing amongst themselves in the snow and Tenzin drank everything in, his blue eyes sparkling with childlike wonder as he looked around.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Katara asked, grinning down at him, as the cold winter wind tossed strands of her hair into her face. Between them, Tenzin giggled and continued walking. He spent some time walking about while holding their hands but a half hour later, he was playing in the snow as if he'd never been frightened of it in the first place.

"I knew he wouldn't be afraid forever," Aang laughed, watching Tenzin slide down a small snowdrift in pursuit of his older brother.

"How?" Katara wondered.

Aang smiled. "He's got Water Tribe genes. How could he dislike snow?"

"Point taken," Katara laughed, watching Kya pelt Bumi with small snowballs. She sighed wistfully and turned her gaze up to glance at her husband. "I'm really wishing there were penguins here right now. I have a sudden urge to go penguin sledding."

Aang shot her a mischievous grin. "Who said you need penguins to go sledding?"

Before Katara ask what he meant, he had wrapped an arm around her and they were shooting down a snowdrift on a sled made of ice. Katara shrieked with laughter as Aang steered them about and by the time they came to a standstill, she was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe.

"That was the most fun I've had in a while," she admitted, leaning up to kiss him. "But I think I'm a little too old to be going sledding like that."

Aang just rolled his eyes and was about to respond when something cold hit Katara and splattered against her parka. Kya was standing a few feet away and giggling, her blue eyes twinkling with mirth. Her hands cradled another snowball which she wasted no time in throwing at her father. Before Aang could take off after her, Bumi had tackled him from behind and Tenzin and followed suit, shrieking with laughter as Aang scooped them both up and blew some snow in their direction. Kya was less fortunate, for as soon as her mother had spotted her backing away, she was locked in Katara's embrace and tickled mercilessly.

"No, Mommy," Kya cried, shrieking as Katara continued to tickle her. "Stop."

"Never," Katara teased, scooping her up and attacking all her weak spots.

"Mommy, stop!" Kya giggled, screaming as they fell back on the snow. "Mommy!" The little waterbender wriggled free and scurried away, attaching herself to her father's leg as Katara pretended to search for her.

"Mommy's going to eat me," she cried, clinging to Aang with a wide smile on her face.

Aang feigned shock and gasped. "Now why would Mommy want to eat a sweet little girl like you?"

"I dunno," Kya giggled, clamping a hand over her mouth as Katara drew nearer.

"Kya," Katara called in a singsong voice, pretending not to see her little daughter quaking with silent laughter behind Aang. "Now where could my little Kya have gone?"

"Over there," Bumi cried, pointing to his sister and jumping up and down. "There, Mama, there."

"I don't see her anywhere," Katara said. "If I can't have her, I'll have to settle for you."

Bumi shrieked as Katara scooped him up and peppered him with kisses.

"No, Mama, stop it," he giggled, squirming in her grip. "I'm a big boy now. I don't need kissees."

"Not even from me?" She wondered, pretending to pout.

Bumi giggled. "Only from you and Daddy."

"I'm touched," Katara laughed.

Kya poked her head out from behind Aang and grinned. "Can we build snowmen now?"

Tenzin giggled and clapped his hands. "So-man," he echoed.

"It depends," Aang said, pretending to think very hard. "Do Mommy and I get to build a snowman with you guys?"

Kya and Bumi nodded and practically hauled their parents to a rather large mound of snow a few feet away to begin building. A half hour later, four snowmen and an odd shaped structure stood side by side and the children gazed at their efforts, quite pleased with themselves.

"There's a Mommy snowman, a Daddy snowman, a Kya snowman, and a Bumi snowman," Kya explained matter-of-factly, ticking them off on her fingers.

"What's this?" Bumi demanded, kneeling in front of the small structure Tenzin had created. "It looks funny."

"I think it's supposed to be a snowman," Aang laughed, scooping up Tenzin and ruffling Bumi's hair.

"Beebee so-man," Tenzin giggled.

"A baby snowman?"

Tenzin nodded and smiled and Bumi giggled.

"It's a family," Kya cried. "Just like us."

"Can we make another snowman family?" Bumi wondered.

Kya shook her head. "Can we make a giant snowman?"

"A giant snowman family?"

"We can do whatever you want," Katara said. "Provided it's not dangerous."

Kya and Bumi cheered and Tenzin just glanced between the two, uncertain of the cause of all their enjoyment, but cheering nonetheless.

"Can we stay out and play in the snow all day?" Bumi wondered.

"Will you play with us too?" Kya added.

"We'll see," Aang replied.

Contrary to their expectations, Kya and Bumi spent nearly all day outside playing with their brother and parents. They took a short break for their afternoon meal and for the children's naps, but the rest of the day was spent outside and in the snow. As promised, Katara showed her daughter how to bend snow and Aang helped Bumi go sledding with a wooden board. Tenzin amused himself by making "beebee so-mans" whenever he could and tried catching lemurs when that grew boring. Kya took it upon herself to teach Tenzin how to speak, sometime after she'd tired of waterbending, but her youngest brother seemed more content to demolish the "beebee so-mans" she made rather than actually learning how to say "baby snowmen." By the time dusk had descended upon the island, the children were exhausted but still having fun. If left to their own devices, they would have stayed out all day, but the sky showed signs of another snowstorm so they were all ushered indoors where they spent the better part of the evening keeping an eye on their snowman family as the snow fell around them.

"Will they be alright?" Kya wondered, glancing at Katara who was clearing the last of their evening meal.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Aang said, smiling at her. "Besides, we can always build more."

Kya smiled and returned her gaze to the snowstorm outside. She spent some time watching the snowflakes fall before turning away and clambering to sit on her father's lap. Katara was seated beside him and Tenzin was dozing off in her lap as she hummed softly to him. Bumi pouted for a minute, feeling left out, but quickly wedged himself in between his parents, mindful of his little brother sleeping. For a while, the only sound that echoed across the silence was the crackling of the hearth and Katara's humming, but at last Kya spoke.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you stay home every day?" she wondered drowsily, nestling into him.

Aang laughed softly, smiling down at his daughter. "I'd love to, Kya, but I don't think I can."

"But I had lots of fun," she mumbled, yawning.

"Me too," Bumi said, curling up between his parents. "Can we do it again?"

"We will," Katara promised, smiling.

"Tomorrow?" Kya wondered, half asleep in Aang's lap.

"Soon," Aang promised. "But for now, let's get you kids to bed."

Wordlessly, Kya and Bumi complied and before long, they were changed and tucked in bed along with Tenzin who was fast asleep, tucked in his bassinet.

"Goodnight," Aang whispered.

A chorus of mumbled goodnights sounded and Katara and Aang spent a minute watching their three children sleep before turning off the lamps and plunging the room into darkness. They turned to leave, but a sleepy voice stopped them.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

"What is it, Kya?" Katara whispered.

"I love you," she murmured, sleepily.

Katara gave a soft laugh and kissed her forehead. "We love you too."

And casting one last glance at their sleeping children, the two left the room with smiles on their face.

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_Thank you so much for reading and, as always, a _huge_ thank you to everyone who reviewed and supported this collection! I can't tell you how much it means! :D_

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	5. A Beautiful Life

_A/N: New chapter! So sorry for the delay in posting, but my schedule's been a little weird lately and I'm still adjusting, so I haven't been able to keep up with the weekly updates. And, I've been busy writing for the writing contests over on the Korra Connection forum, so that's kept me busy too. XD Anyway, this chapter was written a long time ago for a writing contest on an old forum and has since been modified a bit. Hopefully, it's decent. Happy readings!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. ^^'_

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**V. A Beautiful Life**

If there was one thing Katara hated about Aang, it was his status as the Avatar. Perhaps hate was too strong of a word, because she couldn't hate Aang for being the Avatar as that had led to them meeting, but she hated how at all the parties they attended, she and Aang hardly got to spend time together. They could squeeze in one, perhaps two, dances before some diplomat cornered Aang and started talking politics or some fan girl tried to coax him into spending the evening with her. Katara never understood why the diplomats always attended these celebrations if all they wanted to do was talk about work or why the fan-girls never seemed to get the hint that she and Aang were together. If he hadn't dumped her over a fan-girl all these years, there was little chance he was going to do it now, so Katara wished they would just go away. But as she sat at her table, watching all the couples dance, she knew there was little chance of that. The only thing the fan-girls were good for was amusement. More often than not, their antics provided endless hours of amusement for the young waterbender and, in a way, she relied on their attempts to separate her from Aang to make the evening more amusing.

She supposed she was a little crazy for looking forward to whatever prank the other young women pulled this time, but she did find this particular party rather boring at present. Zuko had been requested (or rather, forced politely) to have a celebration in honor of something she hadn't bothered finding out about. She supposed it didn't really matter anyway. Fire Nation citizens, or just people in general, hardly needed an excuse to celebrate. So she sat at the large table surrounded by friends and shifted her gaze from the dancers and watched Aang from the corner of her eye. She had assumed this celebration would be less boring than some of the ones she had attended in years past, but now that she was here and now that Aang had been dragged away from her yet again, Katara found she was bored out of her mind and Aang looked like he was too. He was talking to some prominent Earth Kingdom dignitary who kept clapping him on the back every now and then. The dignitary had a smug expression on his face and Katara longed to know what they were talking about, but with all the noise and music, she had no hope of catching any part of their conversation. She made a mental note to ask Aang about his conversation later, when they danced. Privately, Katara didn't think they would dance together at all at this rate because it seemed as if everyone else was doing a good job of keeping Aang occupied, and Haru kept bugging her to dance. Katara had nothing against Haru, but he wasn't Aang. That fact alone was enough to keep her from dancing with him. Haru was nice, but quite oblivious. The waterbender lost count of how many times she politely declined his offers after accepting the initial one. Haru was a good dancer, surprisingly, but Katara would have much rather preferred to be dancing with Aang. In any case, she found Haru a bit too interested in her (perhaps because he was too bored of the other, unfamiliar girls) for her to really want to spend time with him. He kept complimenting her and hardly ever left her side, hovering about her as if he was assuming Sokka's role of the protective brother. Katara had half a mind to walk over to Aang and kiss him senseless in front of Haru so the earthbender would take the hint, but she didn't think she had it in her to do that in front of everyone in the hall.

"Katara, I really think you should dance," Haru was saying, tugging at her hand, gently. "Come on. You really should be enjoying yourself."

"I'd be enjoying myself a lot more if you weren't trying to dislocate my arm," Katara teased, smiling politely at him. Honestly, if Haru didn't stop soon, she was sure she'd end up snapping at him.

The earthbender just laughed. "Even Toph's enjoying herself," he pointed out.

"No she's not," she replied, watching the blind earthbender slouch in her seat and tug at her elegantly styled hair. "She looks miserable."

"Well that doesn't mean you need to be too," he said, practically hauling her out of her chair. Katara was trying her hardest to resist and when she pulled away, Haru was sent reeling back and knocked into several girls who were headed to the next table over. The punch one girl was carrying flew through the air before drenching Katara and staining her dress. She knew she should have been disappointed, but secretly she was thankful that she finally had an excuse to leave Haru.

"Oh, goodness, I'm so sorry," one of the girls said to Katara, in a tone that was anything but apologetic.

Katara just smiled. "It's fine, really. I'll just go change."

"Let us help," the girl said, beckoning to her companions who followed Katara out of the hall. One of the girls disappeared and returned with a new dress, no doubt procured from a palace maid, a few minutes later.

"Here," she said, handing Katara the dress and shoving her into the nearest room which happened to be a closet. "Wear this. It should fit."

Before the waterbender could protest, the girls had shut the door on her and taken up their posts outside the door.

"This is a closet and I don't think I can…" Katara began.

"We'll make sure no one comes in," one said, interrupting her.

In the darkness of the small closet, Katara glanced uneasily at the door and hastily mumbled a thank you.

"If you give me your wet dress," one was saying. "I can bend the liquid out of it."

Katara stripped down to her bindings and opened the door a tiny bit, just wide enough to toss her wet dress to the waterbender outside and, shutting it once more, slipped into the new one, trying to make sure it was on properly. It was hard to see in the darkness, but at last she had adjusted it properly and stepped out.

"Thank you for the…" The words died in her mouth when she noticed her dress had disappeared. The new one the girls had given her was a dull red color and looked like something they had pulled out of the laundry. It was faded and incredibly itchy and looked horribly plain compared to her other dress. It was hardly the type of dress one wore to a party but Katara realized the girls had given her the dress on purpose and had probably disposed of her other one or hidden it somewhere she couldn't find it.

"You look good," Someone taunted.

Katara looked over her shoulder to see one of the girls, presumably the waterbender who had taken her original dress, leaning against a pillar and inspecting her. Her blue eyes travelled over Katara's slender frame taking her appearance in. Behind her, her friends snickered. "Your outfit is missing something, though."

Katara rolled her eyes.

The girl pulled something out of her tiny purse and Katara's eyes widened when she noticed the necklace Aang had made for her dangling from her fingers. Despite all these years, the fishing line necklace was still intact and looked remarkably good considering how old it was. The girls just sniffed disdainfully at the simple necklace and snickered.

"It's not much, is it?" one said. They all shook their heads.

"Where did you get that?" Katara demanded, glaring at the group of girls. They laughed and with a sinking feeling, she realized it she had tucked it away in her pocket for safekeeping.

"Why would you even want this piece of trash?" someone demanded, tossing the necklace to the ground and kicking it aside. Katara frowned and went to pick it up, aware the girls were giggling at her.

"How pathetic. She's still so concerned about it."

"Oh, don't be mean," someone said, playfully swatting her companion. "She's a peasant; she probably doesn't have much jewelry anyway."

"She probably doesn't have much of anything."

Katara made sure the necklace was intact before turning to face the girls. "I may not have a lot, but I have something you all don't."

"And what would that be?" Another girl demanded, raising her eyebrow inquiringly.

"Aang," she said, smiling and walking past them without giving them a second thought.

"Not for long," the girl muttered, stalking off in the direction of the ballroom, intent on talking to the Avatar.

By the time Katara had returned to their table, Haru had (thankfully) vanished and Sokka had gone to the buffet line with Suki and Toph laughing behind him as he dragged them along. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed the same group of girls who had been bothering her, talking to the cornered Avatar. To a normal person, he looked completely composed, but Katara knew him better than that. She could tell he was flustered and annoyed. Every now and then, his eyes would dart in her direction as if silently begging her for help. She knew it was wrong, but she was fiercely glad Aang looked bored out of his mind with them. Luckily, she had just the thing to remedy that. Abandoning her spot by the table, she made her way over to the airbender, ignoring the glares the girls shot at her as she interrupted their conversation. Grabbing a fistful of his robes and pulling him down to her, she kissed him until she was feeling lightheaded and weightless. At first, the airbender seemed completely off guard, but then his arms snaked around her, pulling her closer and kissing her back with just as much enthusiasm. They could have been like that for seconds or for hours; Katara honestly no idea how much time had passed. The world seemed to fall away around her and she was only conscious of her heart racing and Aang kissing her back. When the lightheaded feeling had subsided a little, she was acutely aware of the gasps of horror coming from the girls and she pulled away smiling.

Aang looked amused. "What was that for?"

Katara shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted, still feeling somewhat dazed from the kiss. She flushed. "Oh, that felt good."

Aang just laughed and gave her a quick kiss. "Well, thanks. I like your dress, by the way. You look beautiful."

This time, Katara was sure she saw one of the girls faint and she silently cheered. But when her gaze drifted back to Aang, she felt her face heat up.

"This isn't much of a dress," she said.

"Well, I still think you're the most beautiful girl here," he said simply. Katara felt her heart melt.

"But she's wearing rags," one girl wailed.

Aang shrugged. "Katara looks beautiful in anything." And with that, he took her hand and led her off to the dance floor. At first, Katara felt too self-conscious to dance properly, but then dancing with Aang always made her forget about all her worries. Soon, she had forgotten all about the girls and the horrible dress which, ironically worked to her advantage. She had hardly danced one dance with Aang when some noblewomen and aristocrats commented on her dress. Oddly enough, they were being sincere when they said the dress looked splendid on her and she looked quite radiant. Katara just thanked them while blushing the entire time. She wasn't so sure it was the dress as much as Aang that accounted for her radiance. But she was thankful that the prank the girls had pulled on her had backfired.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. The same girls kept trying to corner Aang and talk to him, but he never left Katara's side and politely pointed out that he was spending the evening with her. They spent the rest of the evening flirting with him, begging him to dance with them and sit at their table. Katara was thrilled to note that Aang was ignoring them. She wished she could just walk up to those girls and tell them just what she thought of them, but after the stunt she just pulled, she wasn't quite sure she had it in her to do that. She was silently berating herself for kissing Aang like that, in front of half the Fire Nation gathered for the event, but she had to admit, doing something rash like that made her feel good, more confident about herself. And of course, there was the added bonus of Aang's kisses. She felt her face heat up when she recalled it.

"Are you okay?" Aang wondered, glancing at Katara.

"I'm fine," she said, giving him a small smile and glancing down at her hands.

"You look upset," Aang noted.

"I just can't believe I did that," the waterbender said. "Now everyone's going to start talking."

"Don't worry about it," Aang said, smiling. "Just don't listen to them." He paused for a minute before sitting a little straighter in his chair. "So, um…why did you do it?"

Katara shrugged. "I…don't know. It was a spur of the moment thing, I guess. I wanted to show those girls that I wasn't… that you were…" She broke off and sighed. "Are you upset?"

The airbender just grinned. "Does it look like I'm upset?"

"Not really, no," she laughed. "But I'm sorry if I embarrassed you or anything. It's just that you looked like you could use some saving and that was the only thing I could think of. And getting back at those girls was an added bonus."

"You don't embarrass me; trust me, I do that all by myself," the airbender assured her. "And you know, as much as I liked your method of getting back at those girls, you shouldn't have worried about it. Besides, I'd have to be out of my mind to replace you with some other girl."

Katara beamed and gave him a hug. "The more time I spend with you, the more I'm convinced I don't deserve you."

"That's what I think about you," Aang said. "But if we don't deserve each other, then who do we deserve?"

"Point taken."

The orchestra suddenly picked up with a new tune and from the corner of his eyes, Aang noted the same young women threading their way through the crowd towards him for the hundredth time that evening. Biting back a groan of frustration, he took Katara's hand and led her to the courtyard.

Outside, it was much pleasanter and there was no one to bother them. The grass danced on a gentle breeze and the treetops rustled to them unintelligibly. Overhead, the faint outline of the full moon hung like a pearl suspended in a sky layered with colors of sunset. A few crickets were chirping near the duck pond but, aside from the bugs, Aang and Katara were completely alone.

"You know, you can't keep disappearing at every celebration we go to," Katara laughed, as Aang led her towards the large cherry blossom tree that towered over a small pond.

"I know," Aang replied. "But these girls are persistent and I'd rather be spending time with you." He smiled and produced a flower which he promptly handed to her.

Katara raised an eyebrow, inquiringly. "What's this for?" she wondered, inhaling its sweet scent before placing it in her hair.

Aang shrugged. "Can't a guy just give his fiancée a flower every now and then?"

Katara giggled. "I guess, but what if she did nothing to deserve it?"

"She didn't need to," was the airbender's reply.

Katara chuckled. "I know this is mean, but I can't wait to see the reaction on those girls' face when we announced our engagement. I'm tired of keeping it a secret."

"Honestly, I could care less what they think," Aang admitted, before he scooped her up and airbent them into a nearby tree. Katara yelped in surprise and latched onto him, but relaxed when she realized he was merely airbending them up so they could sit upon a tree branch and watch the sunset.

"The sunset's so pretty," Katara said, once they were seated comfortably on a large branch. Aang simply nodded, but he thought Katara was far more beautiful as she sat there under the branches of the cherry blossom tree with petals gently dancing around her.

"So what exactly are we supposed to be celebrating?" The waterbender wondered, gazing at Aang.

"I honestly have no idea," he admitted. "But whatever it is, it isn't too exciting, is it?"

"No," Katara agreed. "At least not for me. But Sokka seems to be having the time of his life. He really enjoys these sorts of things."

Aang chuckled. "So I noticed. Honestly, though, I don't really mind being bored to tears here."

"You don't?" Katara asked, surprised.

"No," he laughed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer. "I'm going to be celebrating the rest of my life with you and that'll more than make up for it."

Katara laughed. "You're so cheesy sometimes, Aang," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. The airbender simply shrugged and Katara leaned up to give him a quick kiss. "For the record, I don't mind it." The two lapsed into silence for some time before Katara spoke again. "You really think being with me will be a lifelong celebration?"

Aang looked down at her and nodded, smiling. "Of course I do."

"But what'll we celebrate?" Katara demanded.

"Anything and everything," he answered. "Falling in love, getting married, having kids, raising a family, growing old together..."

Katara chuckled. "Just wait until we go through all that. You won't want to celebrate when you have to change diapers or when there's kids running around our house breaking things, or when we're old and our joints ache and all we do is complain."

"Yes I will," the young Avatar responded, still smiling. Katara glanced up at him and his eyes were sparkling. "Even if all that happens, it'll happen to us together and that's more than enough reason to celebrate."

Katara grinned and gave him another quick kiss to show that she agreed. She couldn't say she knew what the future held, but she knew that, as long as she and Aang were together, every day would indeed be a celebration not only of their love, but of each other. And suddenly, the prospect of spending the rest of her life with Aang never seemed more enticing. So there, underneath the branches of the cherry blossom tree whose petals danced upon the wind, the young couple sat side by side, watching the sun set and envisioning their life together. And at that moment, it was quite possible that there had never been two happier people in the entire world.

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_Thank you for reading and, as always, thank you so much for all the reviews and the support! You guys are the best! :D_

_~ Cassie_

_P.S. I'm working on a couple of requests for certain people, so hopefully I can have those up soon! ^-^_


	6. Right There Waiting

_A/N: New chapter! Unfortunately, with my weird schedule, I haven't had time to finish the requests, but I'm working on them, so hopefully they'll be the next two chapters. This particular chapter was inspired a lovely piece of art from a really good friend, who's a wonderfully talented artist. Unfortunately, the site doesn't allow links in stories, but there's a link on my profile page and I highly recommend looking at the art (please?); I wouldn't have written the story without it, so if this is enjoyable, the artist is to thank for it! ^-^ Happy readings!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. ^^_

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**VI. Right There Waiting**

"Aang?"

At the sound of his name, the airbender turned partially and smiled brightly at the waterbender standing a few feet behind him. Dressed in a rather thin nightgown, Katara looked a little chilly standing in the cool autumn air, but she didn't seem to mind the cold. Despite her bare feet and the thin shawl draped over her, she seemed perfectly content in the chilly night air and the airbender suppressed a smile at her appearance. With her current ensemble, she almost seemed like a little girl again.

"Want some company?" She wondered.

The airbender smiled and motioned to the spot beside him on stone balustrade he was currently seated upon that formed the balcony by his room. Wordlessly, Katara hoisted herself up and sat beside him. For a short while, the two sat in silence watching the stars illuminate the night sky before Aang spoke.

"Is something wrong?" the airbender wondered, casting a sidelong glance at Katara.

The waterbender sighed. "No, not really."

"If you're going to lie, you'll have to do a better job," Aang laughed.

Katara laughed. "I wasn't lying. I guess I'm just a little sad you're leaving again so soon. You just came back from the Fire Nation last week."

"I know," he replied, smiling ruefully. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't leave. But, with all this stuff about the United Republic going on, I'd better go. I promise when I come back, I won't leave so quickly again."

Katara smiled up at him. "You don't have to do that for me, you know? I know with construction of Republic City, you and Zuko will be needed a lot, but I'll learn to live with it. I guess I just miss you a lot when you're gone and I wish you wouldn't go so often, but I suppose that can't be helped."

"Not for now," he said apologetically, wrapping his arms around her. Katara nestled into his embrace and sighed.

"I wish you didn't have to go," she said softly. "I'll miss you."

"I'll be back before you know it. It's only three days."

"I'll still miss you," she whispered, burying her face in the fabric of his robes. "I wish I could go with you."

"You could if you really wanted to," Aang said. "But, it'd be awfully boring. You'd probably be stuck in one place all day with nothing to do other than cook, sleep, and eat. Not much of the city has been built, so there won't be much to do. Besides, at least here you've got Sokka and Suki."

"Being alone with nothing to do sounds better," Katara joked. "Sometimes, I don't know what Suki sees in my brother."

Aang chuckled. "Either way, I'll be back before you know it."

"Promise?"

He nodded. "You worry too much," he said, smiling and planting a kiss on her forehead. "Three days isn't _that_ long."

"It is when you're gone."

"I promise I'll come back as soon as I can."

Katara sighed contentedly and the two fell into a comfortable silence. A short while later, Aang became aware of a light weight on his shoulder and turned partially to find Katara had dozed off beside him. Smiling to himself, the airbender scooped her up and retreated to his room where it was considerably warmer. After setting the sleeping waterbender in his bed, he made his way to the common room and dozed off on the settee.

Katara was rudely awakened the following morning with a pillow to her head.

"Wake up, sleepyhead," Sokka mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "You've got to leave soon."

The pillow hit her head again and Katara snatched it from her brother before he could do much more damage.

"Would you stop that?" she demanded, glaring at her brother.

Sokka just gaped at her. "What are _you _doing _in Aang's room_?"

Katara opened her mouth to say something, but before she had time to explain, Sokka had snatched the pillow from her and had mercilessly started beating the lump huddled under the mass of blankets beside Katara.

"Aang, you little sneak! If I ever catch you…"

"Sokka," Katara cried, snatching the pillow from him and throwing back the blankets, to reveal another pillow under the mass of blankets. "It's just a pillow. Aang isn't here."

"Wait until I find him," the warrior seethed, exiting the room with an irritated Katara trailing behind him. "I bet he's hiding somewhere. When I find him…"

"Sokka…"

"No! I _am_ going to have a little talk with him, Katara, whether you like it or not. If he thinks…"

"Sokka!"

"Stop interrupting, Katara. This is serious. If Aang…"

"SOKKA!"

"What?"

Katara pointed to the settee in the common room. There, lying curled up with Momo on his head, was Aang, somehow sleeping peacefully despite all the noise from the siblings.

"He's been here the whole night," Katara said, smiling ruefully.

Sokka deflated. "Oh. Well, in that case, I think I'll just go." Muttering incoherently, the lanky warrior shuffled off in the direction of the kitchen and Katara watched him go, before turning her attention to the sleeping airbender. Aang seemed rather peaceful and Katara was reluctant to wake him, but Aang had to leave soon, so there was little sense in letting him sleep in and get a late start. Katara had barely shaken him awake before Sokka appeared from the kitchen, with a scowl on his face.

"What was my sister doing in your room last night?" He demanded.

"Sokka, leave him alone," Katara said, glaring at her brother. "We're not little kids anymore."

"I still want an answer."

Aang blinked. "Uh…sleeping," he said, hesitantly.

"Why?"

"We were talking last night and she just fell asleep so I let her use my bed for the night."

"And why couldn't you have just taken her to her room?"

Katara rolled her eyes and Aang fought the urge to smile.

"She seemed comfortable enough," he said, shrugging casually.

Sokka seemed suspicious of him, but said nothing else.

"If you're done questioning him," Katara said, pushing him in the direction of the kitchen. "Go eat or bother Suki."

Sokka stalked off and Katara heaved a sigh when he disappeared.

"Sorry about Sokka. You know how he is in the morning."

Aang chuckled. "Yeah, I do. All too well."

"I'm sorry I kicked you out of your room last night," Katara apologized.

"I didn't mind," he responded, leaning in to kiss her.

Katara just wrapped her arms around him and sighed. "I don't suppose you'd be able to stay after all?"

"I'm afraid not," he laughed. "But I'll be back as soon as I can. Avatar's promise."

Katara simply laughed.

It wasn't long before Aang was set to leave. Appa was itching to fly but despite his sky bison's impatience, Aang wasn't quite ready to leave yet. As cheery as he seemed about the whole thing, he was reluctant to leave Katara. But he knew the sooner he left, the sooner he'd return and grudgingly took his leave.

"Don't stay away too long, buddy," Sokka said, smiling at him. "Katara will mope otherwise."

The waterbender scowled and elbowed her brother.

"Come back soon, Aang," Katara said, hugging him. "If you stay away too long, I probably will mope, like Sokka said."

She attempted a laugh, but failed miserably.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, promise me you won't worry?"

Katara sighed, looking downcast. "I'll try, but no promises. But…"

Before she had time to finish her sentence, Aang's lips had sealed themselves over hers and for a moment, Katara felt weightless. Then, all too soon, he pulled away and Katara, for the life of her, couldn't figure out why she was feeling so sad and acting so strange.

"Be safe," she said, throwing her arms around the airbender.

"I will," he laughed, winking at her. "Don't worry so much."

And with a smile and wave, he was gone.

Admittedly, the three days passed by rather quickly, as Aang had predicted. Katara found enough ways to occupy herself, so she didn't feel quite as lonely as she imagined she would. There was plenty to do to keep her busy and Aang's absence hardly bothered her until the third day. By then, she had taken to keeping vigil at the window and was nearly bouncing with excitement. Sokka eyed her curiously, but said nothing, until their evening meal. By then, Katara had moved to the front steps and was eagerly watching the skies for any sign of Aang.

"Katara, come inside," Sokka called. "Aang will get here when he gets here."

"Besides," Suki piped up. "You've been distracted all day and have barely eaten anything."

"I can't help it," the waterbender said, beaming at them.

Sokka rolled his eyes and muttered something about girls, earning a jab form Suki.

Katara ignored them and fixed her gaze on the skies above. The sun was setting, staining the skies with its hues, but other than a few wispy clouds floating lazily overhead, it was clear. There was no sign of Aang and a nagging, little voice told her it'd be hours yet before he returned. But, ever the persistent one, Katara was determined to stay up and wait and thus, evening slipped into night and it wasn't long before Katara had fallen asleep where she was.

It was only after the waterbender had fallen asleep that a speck had materialized on the horizon and was slowly drawing closer. By the time Appa and Aang had landed, Katara was in too deep of a sleep to notice. Consequently, she was unaware of the airbender's presence and was too far gone to notice when he knelt beside her.

Aang had a hard time containing the laugh rearing up within him when he noticed the waterbender fast asleep on the front steps of the house. It was just like her to wait for him, but he wished she wouldn't.

"Silly Katara," he whispered, tucking a strand of her hair away and kissing her softly. "You shouldn't have waited up."

Katara merely sighed contentedly in her sleep and the airbender scooped her up and carried her back to her room. The waterbender was oblivious to his presence until he set her in her bed.

"Aang?" she whispered faintly, barely awake.

The airbender smiled. "Go back to sleep, Katara."

The waterbender complied wordlessly and Aang tiptoed out of her room. He hadn't expected Katara to wake up after that, but he'd hardly set foot into his room when he heard footsteps, and by the time he had made it to his bed, Katara was up and had gone after him.

"Aang!" She cried, gleefully. "You're back!"

The airbender barely had time to register what was happening, before she'd thrown her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug. Unable to support both their weights, Aang tumbled backwards, bringing Katara down with him.

"I missed you," she said, laughing softly.

Aang grinned and shifted his position so he and Katara were no longer splayed on the bed.

"I missed you too."

"How was your trip?"

"Lonely. It wasn't much fun without you."

"Does that mean I get to come next time?" Katara wondered, attempting to suppress a yawn but failing miserably.

"We'll see," Aang responded.

Katara mumbled something incoherent that was cut off by a huge yawn.

"You'd better get some sleep," Aang chuckled. "You're tired."

"'m comfortable," she mumbled. "I don't feel like moving."

"I hope you realize Sokka will kill me in the morning."

Katara yawned and curled up beside him. "You give him too much credit."

Aang laughed, softly. "Perhaps," he said, wrapping an arm around the waterbender who was practically asleep. "But he'll still try."

Katara simply yawned in response and snuggled closer to him.

"Aang?"

"Yeah?"

Katara's voice was barely audible. "Love you."

Aang simply smiled and kissed her in response. They both knew Sokka would be far from pleased the following morning if he found them but, as the two of them sat beside each other, with Katara resting her head on Aang's shoulder and the airbender's arms wrapped lightly around her, Sokka's reaction was the furthest thing from their minds. After three seemingly long days apart, they were more than content just to be together again.

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_Thanks for reading and as always, thanks for all the reviews and the support! You guys are wonderful! :D_

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	7. Different

_A/N: Hello! Cassidy here! So sorry for such a long gap between updates, but things have been rather crazy lately, so this fic was long overdue. As usual, I've taken forever to get requests up and so I apologize for those who have waited and are waiting for me to get theirs up. I promise I'll get to them if I haven't already and post them. Anyways, all credit for this idea goes to Shocking Revelation. Thanks for the request and sorry for the long wait. Hope this is decent! Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. ^^'_

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**VII. Different**

Tenzin was tired. Wedged inside a small crevice on one of the rocky outcrops of Air Temple Island, his small frame ached from nearly an hour of sitting still. His legs hurt from crouching and something was digging into his back but he didn't dare turn around to see. The slightest noise could alert Kya and he knew he'd lose for sure if she found him. An insect alighted on his nose and Tenzin gazed at it, cross-eyed. It was some sort of butterfly, he noted, observing the small creature flap its wings. He wished it would leave soon. Its movements tickled and he had the urge to sneeze. _That _would definitely alert Kya. He shook his head to rid it of the butterfly, but the winged creature remained. Panicking, the little airbender tried prying it off but the insect seemed inclined to rest on his nose and settled back down on it again after Tenzin waved it off. Somewhere in the distance he could hear his sister's footsteps approaching and closed his eyes, trying his hardest to stay still. Consequently, he didn't see Kya creeping closer and when she surprised him, the little airbender cried out, startling the insect and his sister.

"Found you!" Kya trilled.

Tenzin frowned and released the sneeze he was holding. Groaning a bit, he crawled out of the crevice and stretched.

"Where's Bumi?"

Kya shrugged. "Haven't found him yet," She admitted. "C'mon. Let's go see where he is."

"I wanted to win," the little airbender said, trotting after his sister.

"Well, you should've hidden in a better spot," Kya said, grinning. "Besides, you always hide in that rock."

Tenzin pouted, but didn't say anything.

"I've already checked the house and the grounds for Bumi," Kya said, matter-of-factly. "The only other place he can hide is down by the beach. So you look down there and I'll take the lagoon."

"Pond," Tenzin chirped.

"No. It's a lagoon. It's more romantic," Kya said, rolling her eyes.

"Pond."

"Ugh! Just go search the beach," Kya said, shuffling away. Tenzin watched her go before setting off to look for his older brother on the beach.

"Bumi?" He called, hurrying along the small expanse of beach. He knew his brother wouldn't give away his hiding spot so easily, but Tenzin wasn't really in the mood to crawl into the deep crevices there; his body still ached from the time he'd spent hiding. "Bumi?"

"He won't answer, silly," Kya said, coming to help him. "He's not by the lagoon."

"He's not here," Tenzin said.

"Sure?"

The airbender nodded.

Kya looked pensive for a moment before ambling off back to the lagoon. Tenzin looked confused but wordlessly followed her. Once they arrived, Kya peered into the clear, azure waters of the lagoon, but saw nothing.

"I was sure he might hide there," she muttered.

Tenzin simply looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Shrugging, he made a move to leave, but stopped when he noticed Kya wasn't following. Instead, the young waterbender was grinning and Tenzin cocked his head to the side, wondering just what his older sister was doing.

"Oh, something smells good!" Kya exclaimed, pretending to sniff something in the air. "I think Mom's make cake. Wanna go eat some, Tenzin?"

"Um…" The little boy blinked, confused.

"Let's go get some," Kya said.

"What about Bumi?" Tenzin asked.

"We'll find him after we have the cake," Kya replied.

"But there's no…"

Tenzin was interrupted by the sound of parting water. Bumi emerged from the far end of the lagoon, a reed in his mouth. Evidently, he'd been hiding among them and used the hollow stalk as a breathing tube.

"I want cake," he cried, bounding over to them.

Kya snickered. "Found you!"

"Where's the cake?" Bumi demanded, wringing the water out of his hair and clothes.

"There is no cake, silly," Kya laughed.

Bumi scowled. "That's not fair," he protested. "You tricked me."

Kya stuck out her tongue. "Not my fault if you're gullible."

Bumi frowned. "I demand a rematch. Let's play again."

Kya was about to respond, but was interrupted by the sound of her mother calling for them all.

"Maybe some other time, little brother. I have to practice waterbending."

"Tenzin? You in?" Bumi asked, looking at his little brother.

"Airbending practice," he chirped, trotting after Kya.

Bumi grumbled and followed them back up to the house.

When the three siblings arrived, Katara was waiting to greet them. She took one look at Bumi and sighed.

"Bumi, why are you dripping wet?"

"We were playing hide and explode…well, without the explode part," the young boy explained. "And I hid in the water."

Katara sighed. "Can't you ever hide in some place that's not wet or muddy?" She wondered.

"Where's the fun in that?" He laughed.

Katara rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile lingering on her face.

"So, what forms are we going to do today?" Kya wondered, uncorking her small water skin.

Bumi sighed, taking a seat on a small boulder, and watched Katara demonstrate. Tenzin lingered by his side for a few seconds before scurrying off to find his father and Bumi sighed again, feeling bored. Normally, practice included fun games the entire family played and Bumi always looked forward to those, but he hated these practice sessions. When Katara trained Kya and Aang worked with Tenzin, there wasn't much for the little eight year old to do. So, to amuse himself, he played with his boomerang, a gift from his uncle. He'd become quite good with it and had impeccable aim already, so he entertained himself by flinging it just a few inches above Kya's head and watching it whiz back. At first, the young waterbender ignored her brother's antics altogether, but after five minutes, she turned on him and demanded he "get lost."

"Go do that somewhere else," she snapped. "It's distracting."

"But…"

"Bumi!"

"Fine," he drawled, retrieving his boomerang and ambling away to find his father and Tenzin.

The eight year-old found them on the other side of the estate, practicing simple forms together. Aang was trying to teach Tenzin how to levitate small projectiles in a small air ball, but evidently Tenzin was having a hard time. The little airbender kept bending the pebbles high up into the air and Bumi laughed, just watching him.

"I can't do it," Tenzin cried, frustrated.

"It's all right," Aang laughed. "You'll get it eventually."

"Hey, Dad," Bumi said.

The Avatar smiled fondly at his elder son and waved.

"Shouldn't you be practicing with Kya and your mother?"

"Mom's teaching her new forms and Kya doesn't like it when I practice with her when she's learning new moves," Bumi grumbled. Aang chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"You can practice with us, then."

Bumi brightened. "Really?"

"Of course," his father replied.

Bumi cheered, throwing his boomerang up into the air and doing a celebratory dance while he waited for it to fly back. Unfortunately, however, his boomerang met with a gust of air from Tenzin practicing a form nearby, and disappeared somewhere over the house.

"Tenzin!" Bumi wailed. "I'll never find my boomerang now."

"Sorry," he replied, shrinking back.

Bumi was about to retort, but thought better of it since his little brother looked like he was about to cry. "Never mind." He muttered.

"Let's go look for it," Aang said. "It can't have gone far."

The three set off in the direction the object had flown and began their search.

"If I don't find it, do you think Uncle Sokka would give me his?" Bumi wondered.

"I doubt it," Aang laughed. "But we'll find it."

"And if we don't?" Bumi pressed.

Aang was about to respond but was interrupted by an older man waiting to speak to him. The airbender smiled apologetically and promised he'd help Bumi search for his boomerang later and hurried to greet their guest. That left the two boys with little to do and so, they wandered off, scouring the island in search of the missing boomerang. They were joined by Kya a short while later, who explained that both Aang and Katara were discussing something with the visitor that involved them.

"What do you think it is?" Bumi wondered.

Kya shrugged. "Who knows? Mom and Dad didn't seem too thrilled, though."

"I'm bored," Tenzin piped up.

"Let's play something," the waterbender suggested.

"Like what?" Bumi demanded, momentarily forgetting about his boomerang.

The waterbender thought for a moment before replying. "I got it! Let's have a bending battle."

"But I can't bend," Bumi protested.

"Well, you don't need to," Kya said. "You're good enough to win without it."

"You…really think so?" Bumi asked.

"You've won before," she pointed out. "It'll be fun. C'mon."

Accordingly, the three children found themselves running about bending and chasing and dashing after each other. At one point, Bumi caught sight of his parents and the strange guest watching them and paused briefly, when he noticed the visitor was gazing at him specifically. The guest said something to Katara and Aang and instantly the two frowned. Bumi shifted self-consciously and hurried after his siblings to play. But, he couldn't shake the feeling of the stranger's gaze on him. He wondered what it meant, but when he asked his parents, over dinner, he got a very unsatisfactory answer.

"It means nothing," Katara said, giving him a reassuring smile that was anything but. "Don't worry about it."

Aang whispered something to her and Katara shook her head. Bumi strained to hear but couldn't make out much of the conversation.

"…can't…bend…not good…"

"…much better…wish we had…bender..."

Bumi wondered if they were talking about his inability to bend. Suddenly, he felt inadequate beside his family members and the more he thought about his inability to bend, the worse he felt. The thought that his parents were discussing his lack of bending was a bit upsetting and put him off his meal entirely. The little eight year old sighed and pushed back his plate, silently slipping out of his chair and shuffling outside. Aang and Katara fell silent and exchanged glances before Aang decided to see what was wrong.

The airbender found Bumi leaning against the railing of the meditation pavilion and staring blankly out at the sparkling waters of Yue Bay that reflected the colors of the setting sun. A warm, spring breeze was blowing and a few sky bison were patrolling the skies, but other than that it was calm and quiet. Aang and Bumi spent a minute in silence before Aang spoke.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you regret it?"

"Regret what?" He asked, confused.

"It's because I'm not a bender, isn't it?" He asked, talking hurriedly. "You and Mom don't like me as much because I'm not a bender."

"That's not true," the airbender objected. "We…"

"But I saw you two talking to that stranger. You were all frowning at me and he kept staring at me. And during dinner, you and Mom kept whispering about me."

"Is that what this is about?"

"You'd have liked me better if I was a waterbender or an airbender, right?"

"That's not true. We don't love you any less because you can't bend. The truth is, the stranger who came to visit is a Fire Nation official. His brother apparently runs a school in the Fire Nation for nonbenders and they wanted us to consider sending you there."

"Me?" Bumi squeaked.

Aang nodded. "Yes, you," he laughed. "Your mother and I, however, didn't really like the idea."

"Why not?"

Aang shrugged. "You're a smart boy, Bumi. You can do better than some average Fire Nation school. It's a really good school, I'm sure, but I have a feeling you'll get into a better one. And, honestly, your mother and I have a much more selfish reason for not sending you there."

"Money?" Bumi wondered.

Aang chuckled. "No, not quite."

"What, then?"

"We'd miss you too much. Besides, who'd keep us on our toes and make us laugh all the time?"

"Kya or Tenzin could," Bumi pointed out.

"True, but not quite the way you do. Besides, I have a feeling if we do send you there now, Kya and Tenzin wouldn't like too much. And your mother and I would probably regret sending you so far away from home at such a young age."

"Well, I don't wanna go," Bumi admitted. "I like it here and I don't really want to leave you and Mom…or Uncle Sokka and Aunt Toph. Besides, Uncle Sokka promised me he'd teach me how to use a sword."

Aang chuckled.

"So…you guys aren't disappointed in me?"

"Of course not! Why should we be?" Aang demanded.

Bumi shrugged. "I dunno. I'm not very good at anything."

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure. You seem to have inherited your uncle's genius and you're really good with that boomerang."

"You think so?"

"Better than me, that's for sure," the airbender remarked. "The first time Uncle Sokka decided to show me how to use a boomerang was when I was seventeen and it didn't go so well."

"What happened?"

"I hit your mother on the head with it. She was so mad at both of us; she wouldn't talk to us for a week."

"A whole week?"

"Well, not quite. She did talk to yell at us, but other than that, she didn't say much."

Bumi giggled. "I can't imagine Mom not talking to you."

"Me either."

"So, you really don't care that I can't bend anything?"

"Not one bit. It wouldn't matter if you could bend water, air, all the elements, or none; it wouldn't change how much we love you. Besides, there are lots of nonbenders in our family; your Uncle Sokka can't bend and look at him now; it doesn't mean he can't do anything. And neither of your grandparents were benders, but they managed. Not being a bender doesn't mean your inferior or superior than anyone. It just means you can't bend, but it doesn't have to stop you from doing anything unless you let it."

"Sometimes, I wish I was a bender. It seems really cool," Bumi admitted.

"It is," his father replied, smiling. "But I think not having bending is just as cool. There are lots of people who do amazing things and not all of them are benders."

"Do you think I could be one of them?" Bumi wondered, hopefully.

"Without a doubt."

"I think I'd like to save the world, like you and Mom did."

Aang ruffled his hair. "I bet you could, but hopefully the world won't need saving for some time yet."

"But someone's got to keep the peace right?"

Aang nodded.

"I think I'd like to be a hero like you guys."

"Well, you might not be a hero to the world just yet, but that doesn't mean you can't be one."

"Is that some cheesy saying you or Mom came up with or something?"

Aang grinned. "Or something."

Bumi giggled but hugged his father all the same. "Thanks, Dad. For everything."

Aang simply smiled and returned the gesture.

"So, since I can't bend…do you think I could learn to throw knives like Aunt Mai?"

"No."

"What about sword fighting like Uncle Sokka?"

"No."

"Can I use weapons like Aunt Suki?"

"Bumi…"

The little eight year old looked up innocently at his father. "What?"

Aang just laughed and shook his head, prodding his son back in the direction of the house.

"You don't need to learn any of that if your aim is to be cool," the Avatar said, smiling. "You already are."

Bumi gazed up at him in delight. "Really?"

The Avatar simply nodded and the young nonbender grinned, as they headed up the path to the house. Just before entering, Bumi paused and turned to look at his father.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I could get a machete?"

Aang groaned. "Bumi…"

* * *

_As always, thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed! You're all wonderful! _=D

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	8. Allure

_A/N: New chapter! I know it's been almost a month since I've updated, but I've been swamped with work and done a good job of procrastinating, so it's taken me a while to update (sorry!). Admittedly, I should have had this done sooner, but I was busy with some other stuff, so I'm posting it now. Better late than never, right? ;) Anyways, this oneshot was based on an idea that started on The Korra Connection forum by The Melon Lord Approves and a couple of others. It's a really adorable idea, so hopefully my average writing hasn't butchered it and made the characters OOC or anything. It's also slightly AU-ish, if anyone is wondering. Hope it's decent! Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything!_

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**VIII. Allure**

Katara decided, rather suddenly, that she liked Aang's hair. The realization struck her one warm, spring evening as she and the airbender sat perched high in a tree overlooking the Dai Lee's latest outpost. The Dai Lee was clearly up to something, though no one was quite sure _what_. So, Katara and Aang had, with the Earth King's support, joined an elite team of benders and skilled fighters to keep an eye on the remaining rogue Dai Lee members and to root them out. It wasn't an easy task by any means because the remaining members constantly kept moving and were well aware that the Avatar and his waterbender were after them, as Long Feng had said during their last visit, but Katara and Aang didn't mind the daunting task ahead. If nothing else, they got to spend more time together, even if most of it was spent perched in a tree or crouched inside a bush for concealment. To further help their quest, the young Avatar had donned a disguise along with the others working on the mission. It had taken him some time, but after a couple of weeks, the seventeen year old had hair again for the first time in five years. Katara had been surprised, to say the least, but it was a welcome change and worked quite nicely for a disguise. The waterbender had even managed to make a thick, clay-like paste to cover the airbender's arrow and complete his ensemble. All in all, the airbender thought it was a pretty good disguise and that it'd do perfectly. There was, however, just one problem he couldn't have foreseen.

The Dai Lee often had a new outpost every week. They moved often to try and throw off the Earth King's team of benders and skilled warriors, so Katara, Aang, and the other members of the team weren't left with much to do once the Dai Lee settled down. It was far too soon for the Earth King's team to make a move and the Dai Lee's goals had yet to be ascertained so they all spent large amounts of time, simply hiding and waiting. The waterbender didn't really mind and used the time to allow her mind to wander as they waited for the Dai Lee to do something. Consequently, a certain airbender became the object of her thoughts (as he almost always was). With each passing hour, Katara was keenly aware of how handsome the young Avatar looked with his hair. When he'd had it before, he'd definitely been considered handsome, but now that he was older, taller, and had filled out a bit more, he'd become just the type of young man girls liked to swoon over. Katara had never considered herself the type of girl to swoon over a man, no matter how good looking he was, but she found she couldn't help it when it came to Aang. He had a smile that often made her weak at the knees and nearly everything he did caused her heart to go a mile a minute. If anyone could make her turn into that type of girl, it was definitely Aang. Now that he'd grown his hair out again, he was even more attractive and Katara couldn't stop staring at him. Her conscience had chided her and she'd tried desperately not to, but it was increasingly difficult to stop. She loved Aang with or without hair and found him handsome no matter what, but it was hard not to stare when he was sitting but a few inches away, looking as handsome as ever. The waterbender had therefore tried to occupy herself with other matters but couldn't seem to do so and fell to thinking about the airbender's hair again. She wanted desperately to run her hands through the airbender's dark hair and surprised herself when her body seemed to move closer to the airbender of its own accord. Beside her, the airbender simply smiled and returned to whittling away at some wood that he'd found.

"I'm going insane," the waterbender thought, running her hands through her own hair which she'd coiled into a messy bun at the nape of her neck. "I've lost it." She gave a long sigh and Aang stared at her, quizzically.

"Something wrong?" He wondered, glancing at her.

Katara's breath hitched as he smiled. His silver eyes were twinkling and a lock of his hair was falling into them. Katara had a sudden desire to kiss him, but refrained from doing so.

"No," she croaked. "Nothing's wrong."

Aang simply raised an eyebrow, but Katara didn't bother saying anything, so he returned to his work. For a while, Katara watched him carve little figures in the piece of wood. The airbender was aware of her gaze but didn't say anything and merely continued to whittle the wood. Several minutes later, he became aware of Katara's proximity and turned once again to ask her if everything was okay, but was stopped by the feeling of her hands running through his hair. He stiffened imperceptibly at first, but then relaxed when he realized how soothing it was.

The waterbender herself was somewhat mortified that she'd actually acted upon her desire, but she had to admit it was as she'd imagined. But, she took the airbender's silence to mean he didn't like it and abruptly pulled away.

"Sorry," she apologized hastily, averting her gaze. "I didn't mean to distract you and I guess I just got carried away and…"

"It's okay," the airbender laughed, interrupting her rambling.

The waterbender just hid her face behind her hands and prayed the Avatar couldn't see her blush.

"Sorry," she apologized again. "I just…"

Aang gently pried her hands away from her face and smiled. "Really," he said. "It's okay. I wasn't complaining, was I?"

Katara gave a small smile. "No, I guess not."

"I really didn't mind," he said, quietly. "I…enjoyed it."

He flushed and Katara felt a little bit better.

It seemed to Katara, afterwards, that she was addicted to the airbender's hair. The notion seemed rather silly, but she often found herself running her hands through his hair when she could. The airbender realized how distracting it often was, but hadn't the heart to tell Katara, especially since he enjoyed the sensation; it wasn't something he was quite accustomed to. Katara, for her part, would just laugh and apologize profusely and promise to stop distracting him. Needless to say, she resumed anew a few minutes later. Aang found her fascination with his hair quite amusing, but he certainly wasn't complaining. There were other, more pressing matters obviously and they would no doubt be dealt with, but for now, the waterbender and the airbender simply intended to enjoy each other's company, even if it simply meant sitting in a tree and revealing in the feel of someone's fingers running through your hair. After all, there were certainly worse ways to pass the time and this was something they could both get used to.

And suddenly, right then and there, the airbender decided that he was glad he'd let his hair grow out and that it was one of his best ideas yet.

* * *

_As always, thank you so much to everyone who read and/or reviewed! I can't tell you how much all the positive feedback and support means! You're all so wonderful!_

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	9. Apples

_A/N: I...have no explanation for this one. I wrote it on a whim and it probably isn't all that great, but I'll leave that for you readers to decide! ;) Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

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**IX. Apples**

There was an apple in the tree. It was a fairly large, juicy looking fruit that grew on one of the highest branches of the apple tree in the garden. Katara had been eyeing it all day. It seemed that no one else had been interested in it for it had yet to be plucked and eaten and the waterbender was determined to get it. Nimbly climbing up the tree, she wove her way through the branches and up towards the apple. It looked even tastier up close and the waterbender craned to reach it. Before she could pluck it however, it was severed from the branch by a well-delivered jet of air and fell into the hands of a certain airbender standing below. Katara peered through the branches and laughed.

"Aang, give me my apple."

The airbender simply smirked. "You'll have to catch me first," he laughed.

"Aang," she whined, pouting. "I'm not stupid enough to race an airbender."

"Then no apple for you," he teased, making a move to eat it.

Katara hurried down the tree and made a beeline for Aang. The airbender, however, didn't even move.

"Give me my apple," Katara demanded.

Aang just grinned. "No," he teased, holding the fruit above her head. "I think I'll keep it and eat it myself because I'm a selfish person like that."

"Aang," she laughed, jumping up to reach it. But, the airbender had several inches on her and held the apple a bit too high for her to reach. Katara laughed again and made an attempt to grab it.

"Please?" She begged, unable to stop laughing. "Why can't I have it?"

"Because," the airbender said, simply.

"That's not a reason," she replied, continuing to jump up and down in an attempt to pry the fruit free Aang's hand. "Aang…"

The airbender chuckled. "You're going to have to try harder than that."

Katara sighed and leaned up to kiss him.

"Can I have it _now_?" She wondered, when they broke apart.

"No."

"Aang!" She'd meant for it to sound severe, but she was laughing too hard for it to sound so.

"Go pick another apple," he teased.

"But I want that one," she protested. "Why can't I…?"

She was cut off by the airbender's lips sealing themselves over hers and, for a moment, she forgot entirely about the apple. When he pulled away, she blinked, slightly dazed, and sighed. Aang just grinned and ambled away. Katara stood under the tree for a minute before running after her fiancé.

"Can I _please_ have my apple?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him from behind and burying her face in the fabric of his robes.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I want it."

"Well, it's me or the apple, Airhead."

"I choose the apple, then."

Katara gaped at him for a second before pouting. "Well, fine then! I'll go eat your mangos," she declared before walking away. She didn't get very far before a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

"There aren't any mangos," Aang said, laughing. "I finished them."

"Meanie," the waterbender said, sticking her tongue out at him. "I'll go pick berries, then."

"And what if I don't let you go?" Aang wondered, tightening his grip on her.

Katara giggled. "You will."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Because I won't talk to you until you let me go _and_ give me my apple."

"But you're talking to me now."

"You know what I mean!"

"Do I?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You're still talking to me."

"Aang!"

The Avatar simply laughed.

"If you don't give me that apple, I'll…I won't marry you," Katara declared, resolutely.

"Then, who will you marry?" He wondered, resting his chin on her shoulder. Katara flushed.

"Someone else," she said.

"Like?" He prodded.

"Someone…anyone. I don't know. Someone who's not you," Katara answered.

"If you insist," he replied, letting her go.

"If you don't give me that apple, I'll steal Appa and run away and you'll never see me again," she threatened.

"I dare you to do it, then."

Katara pouted, fully aware that the airbender knew she was making empty threats. She'd sooner drown herself than willingly leave Aang.

"If you loved me at all, you'd give me my apple," she muttered.

"But I do love you," he pointed out, laughing and placing the apple in her hands. Katara's face lit up and she smiled in delight. Aang simply chuckled and kissed her.

"Has anyone told you you're adorable?" He wondered.

The waterbender pouted again. "I am not," she protested.

"I beg to differ."

"Will you let me eat my apple in peace?"

"No."

The waterbender stuck her tongue out. "Moron."

Aang laughed. "So, now that I gave you your apple, will you still marry me?"

"What do you think?" She demanded, taking a bite out of it.

"I think you're having entirely too much fun eating that apple," he exclaimed, snatching it from her. Katara laughed in spite of herself.

"Give it back," she demanded, tackling him to the ground.

"Not until you answer my question."

"I'll marry you if you give me that apple."

"And if I don't?"

Katara rolled her eyes, pressing her lips to his. Aang could taste apple on them.

"Of course I'm still marrying you, you idiot. Now let me have my apple!"

The airbender laughed and gave it to her and the waterbender snatched it back.

"Can I get up?" The Avatar asked, aware that as long as the waterbender was sitting on him, he couldn't stand.

"No."

"No?" He repeated. "Why not?"

"Because," The waterbender said, rearranging herself on his lap and eating her apple in satisfaction. "This is your punishment for teasing me."

Aang laughed, wrapping his arms around her. "Punishment?"

"Yes."

"Katara, this is hardly punishment."

"Well, I'm still not letting you get up," she said, grinning deviously. "You're stuck like this."

The airbender just laughed softly and smiled. "Maybe I should steal apples from you more often," he mused.

Katara just hummed in agreement, resting her head on his shoulder. "Maybe."

* * *

_Thanks for reading and as always, thank you to everyone who reviewed! I wish I could send guests a personal thank you but since the site doesn't allow it, I suppose I'll have to settle for this. So, thanks! __A la persona anónimo: No estoy segura si Ud. verá esto, pero muchas gracias para el comentario. Me alegro que haya disfrutado el cuento! ^-^ You're all wonderful!_

_~ Cassie_

_P.S. I _am_ working on the requests that Alveria, CallaTor73, and 1911Cowboy sent! I know I've been horrible about posting them (what else is new? XD), but I promise I'll have them up as soon as possible! _^^'


	10. Amazing

_A/N: I'm a horrible person._ ^^'_ I know I promised I'd have some requests posted soon, but I've been so busy with exams and such lately, I haven't had time to write anything that I felt was decent enough to post. Now that I have even more to study, I probably won't get a chance to work on anything for the next couple of weeks, so I thought I'd post this piece (however good or bad it may be) as a little something to tide everyone over until I have more free time to work on requests and such. As always, those who've sent requests are more than welcome to nag me to get them up; I know I've taken a ridiculously long time to post them, but I promise I will! ^-^ Anyway, I hope this piece is decent. Happy readings!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

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**X. Amazing**

"So," Sokka wondered, pushing back his chair and stretching a bit to get more comfortable. "What kind of torture do you think Councilman Ling is going to put us through tonight?"

Aang's eyes widened and he shot a warning look at the warrior. "Pipe down or he'll hear you," The Avatar hissed, discreetly pointing at the portly councilman who was but a few meters away.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "He's not going to hear. I mean, he's busy basking in glory; why would he hear us?"

Aang had to admit Sokka had a point. At the moment, Councilman Ling, a young man in his late thirties, was chatting cordially with some lower ranking city officials about something neither Aang nor Sokka could hear or really cared to know about. The Councilman was an eager official, polite, yet somewhat pompous and always bursting with revolutionary ideas to reform the city (ideas which, Sokka had pointed out, were rather bizarre and ridiculous). He'd recently proposed some scheme to the Council and while voting on it hadn't produced a clear majority, it was of the general opinion that his idea (which, Aang could only surmise, likely had to do with the Republic City's newest sector) would be a success. Therefore, as Sokka had correctly assumed, the councilman was far too absorbed in receiving hearty congratulations to really pay attention to the lingering Avatar and his brother-in-law. Normally, Aang and Sokka would have gone back to Air Temple Island as soon as the meeting had concluded, but there were certain aspects as of Ling's proposal that needed going over and since Aang was the Avatar and Sokka, one of the chief councilmen, they'd been, as Sokka aptly put it, saddled with the job. Thus, the two men found themselves waiting for the older councilman to finish thanking some acquaintances before joining them.

"So sorry to keep you two waiting so long," Ling said, hurrying over to them as the last of the officials congratulated him. "I'd have come sooner, but you know how these things are."

Sokka nodded though, in all honesty, he _didn't_ know how those things were.

"It's okay," the Avatar said, smiling good-naturedly. "We didn't mind."

Sokka nodded again, though, he really did mind. He'd been looking forward to returning to Air Temple Island with Aang and seeing Katara and his niece and nephews again. Eating dinner with the family was always a plus too, and Sokka had been itching to go eat, since he'd skipped his morning meal and had only enough time for some cold Flameo instant noodles. But, dinner would have to wait. Ling had to pick up the necessary paperwork from his house and only then could the three venture to Air Temple Island. Even worse, in Sokka's opinion, was that he was joining them for dinner. It was well known that the councilman liked to hear himself talk and he often gave lengthy discourses on his ideas and spent an equally large amount of time going off on tangents and talking in circles.

Sokka wouldn't have minded so much if the subject matter had been interesting, but often times it was about some unrelated topic and Ling continued on endlessly. Even Aang had a hard time paying attention after a while. But it couldn't be helped. Their only consolation was that this was a one-time affair and, thankfully, Councilman Ling wouldn't be joining them for dinner more than once this week.

Ling's house was a large one located not far from the town hall. It was one of the newer houses in this particular sector and combined traditional and modern architecture. The councilman spent five minutes alone just explaining how the exterior of his house combined styles from the Earth Kingdom and more modern designs. When they walked inside, Sokka and Aang braced themselves for another monologue which they promptly received. The interior was lavishly decorated and it seemed as if no expense was spared in creating it. The walls were decorated with a variety of artifacts and expensive porcelain was everywhere. The floors were of some expensive stone and sparkled in the light of the evening sun.

"These marble floors are all the rage in the Fire Nation," Ling explained. "And the wood for the cabinetry and such is rosewood, imported from the Earth Kingdom. The finest you'll find anywhere."

A servant came hurriedly to take Ling's coat and he ordered the necessary papers to be fetched. Bowing, the servant retreated and Ling led Sokka and Aang deeper into the house. He took them through a passageway that branched off from the entryway and passed several rooms before entering a large, ornately furnished den. A woman, no doubt Ling's wife, was the only person there and she looked up from the book she was reading when her husband cleared his throat.

"Dear, we have some guests."

"That's nice," she said. Her tone, however, implied she didn't really seem concerned about the visitors. "Shall I ring for tea?"

Sokka gave Aang a puzzled look and the airbender simply shrugged.

"You think the servant can even hear them in this house?" Sokka whispered.

"I don't know," the airbender admitted. It was certainly larger than any house he'd ever seen. It seemed as if all of the Air Temples could fit in there.

"Would you gentlemen care for some tea?" Ling wondered. "We have several flavors and I can send a servant to get any flavor you'd like if we don't have it."

"No thank you," Sokka declined. "I think Aang and I will pass."

The airbender simply nodded and smiled.

"As you wish," Ling's wife said. "I'm going for tea myself. Do let me know if you change your minds."

Aang nodded again, but privately, he surmised Ling's wife really couldn't care less about whether or not they changed their minds.

Ling sighed and glanced at an ornate clock. "Where is that servant?" he muttered.

The door opened just as the words were out of his mouth, but it wasn't the servant that greeted them. Instead, a young boy of perhaps twelve or thirteen rushed in and bowed before Aang and Sokka.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, most honorable sirs," he said, bowing so low Aang thought he might keel over. Sokka visibly winced and Aang blinked.

"No need for that, kid," Sokka said, smiling and extending his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

The child eyed his hand like it was foreign object and blinked, before hesitantly shaking it. He turned to Aang and bowed again.

"Oh, Most Honorable Avatar. It is indeed an honor to be in your presence."

Aang couldn't stifle the laugh that bubbled up. "Please, call me Aang."

The boy stared at him wide-eyed and gasped, half awed and half mortified.

"This is my son," Ling explained. "He attends the Academy in the Fire Nation and is currently on break. Have you finished your studying, son?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you've done your drills for the day?"

"Yes, sir."

"And your application for the Youths Bending Tournament?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very good, very good. Run along now."

The boy bowed. "Yes, sir." He hurried to the door, but paused. "Mother wants to know if you're dining in tonight."

"No, son. You may tell her not to expect me for dinner. Have someone from Kuang's Cuisine send something over for her if she doesn't feel up to cooking."

"Yes, sir." The boy nodded and hurried out. Ling excused himself to find the servant he'd instructed to bring his papers, leaving Aang and Sokka alone.

"Sir?" Sokka echoed. "What kid calls their father sir? Is Ling running a household or boot camp?"

Aang shrugged. "I guess everyone does things differently."

"I suppose so. Still, I'd hate to be Ling's son."

Aang couldn't help agreeing with his brother in-law on that.

Ling returned shortly thereafter clutching a few papers and his coat. He explained that the necessary documents had finally been procured and they were free to go. So Aang and Sokka hurried to the docks with Ling in tow and it wasn't too long before they boarded a ferry for Air Temple Island. Ling spent most of the ride examining the ferry and commenting about how metal ships sailed better and how the material for the sails was all wrong and that the crew Aang had hired was rather incompetent. The airbender didn't say anything but merely rolled his eyes and silently thanked the spirits that the ferry ride was a short one. He and Sokka didn't have to endure Ling's ramblings for long.

They disembarked shortly and led Ling up to the house. The councilman seemed to derive some satisfaction in knowing that Aang's house wasn't nearly as lavish as his own.

"Bit simple for the Avatar, isn't it?" He wondered, glancing around the island and taking note of everything. "I'd have thought the island was grander."

"My people have always lived simple lives," Aang replied.

"But, surely as the Avatar, you needn't. You could have a mansion or a palace if you so desired. In fact, I know someone who could build one for you and…"

"I don't think that's necessary," the airbender laughed, leading Ling inside the house. It was nothing compared to Ling's estate but Aang hardly cared that it was smaller and perhaps not as tidy and spotless as Ling's had been.

Katara was there to greet the trio at the door. With a child in her arm and one clinging to her skirts, Ling thought she was the nanny at first but was shocked to discover she was Aang's wife. The idea of taking care of his own son was unfathomable to him; he and his wife had had a nanny to care for their son until he was old enough that she could be dismissed. He couldn't seem to wrap his head around the notion that the Avatar and his wife raised their children without a nanny.

How odd, he mused.

His musings were interrupted by a little girl arriving and Ling nearly cried out when she darted past him and made a beeline for Sokka.

"Uncle Sokka!" Kya cried, beaming. "You came."

Katara laughed and gave her husband a kiss. "Welcome home, Aang." In her arms, one year old Tenzin squirmed and reached out for Aang. The airbender grinned and took the little child from his wife and kissed her cheek.

"Hi," he replied, grinning. "You seem happy."

"You're home," was her simple reply. Ling stared at them as if their exchange was anything but ordinary.

Aang laughed. Bumi peeked out from behind Katara's skirts and glanced up at the stranger. Ling frowned.

"It isn't polite to stare," he said, gravely.

Sokka frowned. "He's four," he said.

"My son had better manners at two," Ling muttered. Sokka glared at him but it went unnoticed.

"Daddy," Kya cried, rushing over to Aang. "Uncle Sokka said he'll take me penguin sledding when we go to the South Pole next time."

Ling snorted, but no one seemed to hear him. Bumi chanced a glance at the visitor but shrank back when he noticed Ling's gaze on him. Paying him no mind, he scurried over to Aang and attached himself to his father's leg, asking something about sky bison and dragons. Aang whispered something to him and Bumi brightened and laughed, cheering loudly. Ling watched the whole scene unfold with an odd look on his face. His wife had never been so happy when he returned home and his son certainly didn't laugh with joy and hug him when he returned from work. In fact, his wife hardly greeted him at all when he came home and avoided speaking to him if she could. His son was much the same; he rarely saw both of them and when he did, they certainly never greeted him like Katara and her children greeted Aang, and even Sokka. And for that Ling couldn't help but be the slightest bit resentful.

Ling found dinner to be a simple affair and it restored his spirits considerably. He didn't mean to be rude, but he took comfort from noting that the Avatar's meals were much simpler than the ones served in his home. It seemed, to Aang, Katara, and Sokka, that Ling liked to distinguish his rank.

"We always have three courses for meals," He said, taking a bite of the food he guessed would be adequate. Katara rolled her eyes, but smiled as Ling's eyes widened.

"This food is amazing," he exclaimed. "I must have the name of your cook, Avatar Aang."

"I'm afraid I don't have one," the airbender said. "Katara cooks most of the meals here."

"You cook?" Ling asked, glancing at her.

"Since I was eight," she replied, evenly. The councilman looked astonished and that odd look returned.

"My wife doesn't know how," he admitted. "And…we never eat meals together as a family."

There was a trace of sadness in his voice and Sokka smiled, sympathetically.

"Well, maybe you can fix that?" He suggested.

Ling nodded "Perhaps." His wistful look was soon replaced and he began conversing about his lavish lifestyle. Katara made a mental note to never play hostess to him again.

Dinner was finished quickly and Ling assumed that he, Aang, and Sokka would adjourn to the airbender's study to discuss his proposal, but to his surprise, they didn't. Instead, they moved to the sitting room and the three discussed (with some input from Katara every now and then) while Tenzin crawled over Aang and Sokka and Kya and Bumi played around them. It wasn't the type of setting Ling was used to and he told Aang as much. The airbender simply shrugged and smiled.

"You can't blame a man for wanting to spend time with his kids."

Ling just nodded. He himself hardly ever spent much time with his son and his wife hardly ever took interest in what he did. He found the airbender's family and way of life so different from his own and surprised himself when he realized he longed for a similar sort of life, though perhaps, not as simple. Sighing to himself, he stood up and excused himself for a moment. Aang and Katara exchanged glances before the airbender hurried out to speak to their guest.

"Something wrong?" The Avatar wondered.

"No, no," Ling replied, hastily. "Just admiring the Island."

Aang didn't bother telling Ling that he knew it was a lie. Apart from being able to detect his vibrations (a technique he'd learned from Toph), he knew Ling found it far too simple for his tastes. "It's a quaint, lovely place, but if you don't mind me saying so, I was always under the impression that the Avatar was richer."

"Well, it depends on what you mean by rich and how you measure wealth," Aang said, smiling. "I consider myself rich."

Ling nearly scoffed, but managed to stop himself in time and simply returned indoors, where he passed the rest of the evening comfortably, to his surprise. After a few hours on Air Temple Island and much talk about his proposal, the councilman finally took his leave, but not before Sokka offered him some sage advice.

"Money doesn't buy happiness," he quoted sagely, watching Ling gaze at his sister's family. "If I were you, I'd talk to your wife and son."

Ling nodded and boarded the ferry to Republic City with the intention of doing just that. He certainly could never get used to a simpler lifestyle, but he could mend his relationship with his wife and son. After watching the Avatar and his family, Ling intended to do just that.

On the island, Katara, Aang, and Sokka watched him go and the waterbender nearly danced for joy once the ferry vanished from sight.

"Pompous jerk," she muttered. "He thinks because he's the richest man right now, he can just…"

She was silenced by a kiss from Aang and when he pulled away, he was smiling.

"He's not the richest man."

"No?"

The airbender shook his head. "I currently hold that position."

"You?" Katara laughed. "Aang, we're not _that_ wealthy."

"It depends on how you measure wealth, then," he said again. "By monetary standards, I suppose we aren't, but…"

"But?" The waterbender prodded, smiling.

Aang laughed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"I have the most amazing, remarkable wife, three equally amazing, wonderful children and the best friends. How can I not be wealthy?"

* * *

_Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed and such! I'm immensely grateful for all the support! You're all wonderful!_

_~ Cassie_


	11. Letters to a Loved One

_A/N: It's a miracle! I finally have a request done! This one is long overdue and I apologize for the ridiculously long wait. ^^' Credit for this one goes to Em, who requested a one-shot written in the same format as Ch. 49 of Forever and For Always; thanks for the request and sorry (again) for the ridiculously long wait! I'd have posted this sooner, but these last couple of weeks have been rather hectic. In any case, I hope this is decent! Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything! ^^'_

* * *

**XI. Letters to a Loved One**

There were tearstains on the first letter. Katara had been sobbing so hard, she had barely been able to see and she had been shaking so much, she'd barely been able to write. She'd had to waterbend her tears out of the parchment and even then, it was barely salvageable. Still, with an unsteady hand, she'd written six simple words and let the small piece of paper fly away in the breeze.

_I miss you so much, Aang._

If she'd watched, she'd have seen the breeze carry the paper safely over the bay and to the lone island some distance away, but she had lost herself in her grief as her husband's still form grew colder.

The second letter was written three days after the Avatar's passing and was also short.

_I love you._

The third was written a week later.

_I miss your smile and your laugh. Everything. Why'd you leave?_

The fourth was the shortest of all.

_Always._

A fifth one soon followed.

_Why didn't you wait? I miss you, Aang._

And soon a sixth letter and a seventh followed. Katara couldn't say why she did it. It didn't seem like Aang read them (and whether or not he was capable of reading them was another matter) and it hardly seemed to stop the tears, but somehow, writing letters and letting them drift in the wind made her feel closer to Aang so, pen in hand, Katara wrote. And the letters continued on.

* * *

_Dear Aang,_

_Has it really been a month since you left? It seems hard to believe. The pain is still as raw and sharp as ever. I'm honestly surprised I even made it this far. Sometimes, I feel as if…well, I'm sure you can guess if you've been watching. Life without you is so radically different; I'd be lying if I said I've adjusted to it. I've always known you'd leave but I always assumed we had more time. I miss you so much. It seems like I can't do anything without being reminded of you. I wish you were here._

_Lots of love,_

_Katara_

* * *

_Dear Aang,_

_It's been one month, two weeks, five days, seventeen hours and fifty three minutes. I've been counting. I don't know what to do. It took me years to heal after my mother's passing; I don't know if I have it in me to heal after yours. I miss you more than you can possibly know. If it weren't for the children and Sokka, Toph and the others, I might have honestly joined you. I know, I know; I shouldn't have even contemplated such thoughts, but without you everything seems so bleak. I hardly know what to do with myself. The new Avatar hasn't been found; the Order of the White Lotus has searched every corner of the globe, but I suppose it's too soon for the child's bending abilities to surface. I don't know what I'll do once the new Avatar is found. I know I promised you I would train the child in waterbending, but I don't know if I can, if I'm emotionally ready to do so. Will I even be a good teacher? Waterbending has changed so much and I'm old and well…the child isn't you. It isn't fair of me, I know, but…why did you go? I know neither of us had control over it, but I'm a mess without you, Aang. You said forever the day we got married; you promised, and yet…_

_An eternity with you would still be too short. I love you._

_Yours always,_

_Katara_

* * *

_Dear Aang,_

_Five months and I still can't seem to stop crying myself to sleep. But don't worry; I'll be okay. I don't think I'll ever heal completely until I'm with you again, but I'll get better. For once, I do have some good news! Bumi's been promoted and is now Commander of the United Forces. I can't tell you how proud I am and I know you are too. He's been assigned post away from home, but I think he'll be quite comfortable where he is. The only problem is what we'll all do when he finally leaves; we're definitely going to miss him. I know I don't have to ask you to watch over him; I know you will. The children- I suppose that term hardly applies, but they'll always be children to me- miss you terribly, Tenzin especially. I can only imagine what he's feeling like; it was what you felt too, wasn't it, knowing you were the last of your kind. I'm so sorry; I wish we had more airbending children so Tenzin wouldn't have to bear the weight alone, but it's too late now. I know you've said it's not my fault and I have nothing to apologize for, but I can't help it. If only…well, time will tell. I love you._

_Forever yours, _

_Katara_

* * *

The subsequent letter was written some time later.

_Dear Aang,_

_ It's the winter solstice. Sokka's going on a trip today. Promise me you won't let him get kidnapped by any spirits? I wish I had something more to write, but I can't think of anything to say. It's been a year since you've gone and I think I've finally settled down into a routine, but I miss you so much. Nothing is the same without you; I'm not the same without you. If I could only see you just once…_

_Love,_

_Katara_

* * *

_Dear Aang,_

_ Sokka's sick. The doctors say he's too frail and weak to last much longer. They say he caught something from his travels and that he won't live much longer. Please, help! I can't…I don't know what to do. I wish you were here._

_Love,_

_Katara_

* * *

There were tearstains on the next letter. Katara had been crying too hard for the parchment to remain dry, but she managed to write, all the same.

_Dear Aang,_

_ He's gone. Sokka's gone. I don't know what to do. I can't lose anyone else. I wish you were here, Aang. I miss you so much and I miss Sokka and…is it selfish of me to want to leave this place and join you? I know it must be, but I can't help it. I'll always love you._

_Yours truly,_

_Katara_

* * *

The next letter, written much later, was short. It was only six words, but they alone spoke volumes.

_Toph's gone. Poor Lin. I wish…_

* * *

The subsequent letter was penned just days after. Katara wasn't sure why she continued writing these letters but it offered her solace and so the little journal continued to fill up.

_Dear Aang,_

_ I'm going back home. They say home is where the heart is, but my heart is with you; unfortunately, it'll be a while before I see you again, so I don't suppose I can really go home. I haven't lived up to my end of the bargain, I know, but I'm going back to the Southern Water Tribe. Tenzin and Pema are comfortable here on Air Temple Island, and there's nothing much for me here. I think I'd like to go back to where it all started. There are pleasant memories to get lost in there. Will you go penguin sledding with me?_

_Lots of love,_

_Katara_

* * *

_Dear Aang, _

_The new Avatar has been found! She's a tiny little girl, named Korra and so adorable! I think we'll be great friends! After all, someone very wise once said he believed some friendships were so strong, they could transcend lifetimes. I still miss you. And, you know I love you as much now as I did then._

_Thinking of you,_

_Katara_

* * *

Years later, and the letters hadn't stopped.

_Dear Aang,_

_ I have wonderful news! Tenzin's daughter, Jinora, is an airbender! Oh, Aang, I wish you could've seen her in person! She's the cutest thing ever! I can't stop smiling, Aang; I think this is the most I've smiled since Korra mastered waterbending. Between Korra and Tenzin's youngsters, I've so much to keep me occupied. For once, I feel…content. Send Toph and Sokka my love. _

_Yours,_

_Katara_

* * *

Three more letters soon followed detailing the births of Ikki, Meelo, and the discovery that both were airbenders. A letter was written shortly after that detailing the escalating tension among benders and Equalists and Korra's decision to journey to Republic City and the outcome of that. More letters followed that (including one about little Rohan) and soon, the little journal was almost full before Katara decided to retire it. Taking out her pen, she wrote one last letter.

_Dear Aang,_

_ So much has happened since you've left. I wish you could have been here to see it all. Our grandchildren are wonderful; I wish you could have met the airbenders. Little Rohan might be an airbender, you know? I desperately wish you could've held them at least once. It doesn't seem fair, does it, that you had to miss so much. But, the future of airbending isn't perhaps as bleak as it was once was. Looking back through this journal, it's hard to believe you've been gone for so long and that I've been writing to you for so long. Sometimes, it feels as if it was just yesterday that you went. But, I'm happy to say, I've healed considerably. As I said before, I don't think I can heal completely until I see you again, but I'm content now. There's just so much to do, I hope you don't blame me for holding out a little longer. Besides, now that the Equalist movement has fallen and everyone's in the South Pole, we intend to celebrate. I'd like to stick around for that, at least. _

_I miss you, Sokka, Toph and the others but I don't think I'm quite ready to leave the physical world and our children, grandchildren, and Korra just yet. Speaking of Korra, I hope you and the other Avatars are proud of her. I certainly am. She's nothing like you, Aang; she's different in nearly every way possible but one: she'll be a great Avatar as you and others before you have been. _

_I'm running out of room, so I'd better end this. I'll just say what I've always said: thank you. For everything, then and now. I know you've been watching over us. We all miss you terribly, but I'll see you soon. I love you, forever and always._

_Forever yours,_

_Katara_

* * *

"Gran Gran?"

Katara started at the sound of her name and half turned to find Jinora standing behind her with a curious expression on her face.

"What're you doing?"

Katara smiled. "Writing a letter," She replied.

Silently, the young airbender took a seat beside her grandmother and followed her gaze out to the horizon, where the blue of sky met the blue of sea and blended together so that distinguishing one from the other was nearly impossible.

"Who're you writing to?" Jinora wondered.

"Your grandfather."

At this, Jinora looked surprised. Katara merely smiled and folded up the small piece of paper, letting the wind catch it and carry it away. Jinora watched it drift over the waters of sea until it was nothing more than a speck in the distance.

"Do you think he reads them?" She wondered quietly, keeping her gaze trained on the horizon in the distance.

Katara smiled, her fingers curling around the pendant of her necklace. "I'm sure he does."

Jinora sighed wistfully. "I wish…"

The waterbender smiled and nodded. "I know, Jinora. I know…"

* * *

_As always, thank you so much to everyone who read, reviewed and supported this collection in any and every way! I can't tell you how grateful I am! You're all wonderful! _

_~ Cassie_


	12. Secrets & Surprises

A/N: Gah! I am such a horrible person! As usual, I'm terribly behind on requests but I haven't had much time to finish anything due to family matters. I hope to be able to finish the requests soon and have them up as soon as possible; thank you all so much for your patience. In the meantime, I thought I'd post this. I hope it's okay! Happy readings!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. ^^

* * *

**XII. Secrets & Surprises**

When Sokka set foot in his sister's house, one warm summer's evening, he was surprised to find it empty. Normally, Katara was cooking for their evening meal, but with Aang away, Sokka figured she probably wasn't up to cooking much and would likely eat leftovers. With Aang away for an extended period of time, the waterbender had invited Sokka over for meals and to keep her company. Although Air Temple Island had witnessed its two month anniversary, the Air Acolytes had yet to move in. Aside from Katara, Aang, and the occasional visitor, Air Temple Island was completely devoid of human life. That wasn't to say there wasn't anything on the island, for it hosted a herd of sky bison, several winged lemurs, and one messenger hawk, but the warrior understood all too well the loneliness his sister likely felt. Animals, however kind, gentle, and patient, were no substitute for another person.

After searching the house, Sokka made his way outside to the meditation pavilion Katara was known to frequent. It afforded a stunning view of the surrounding area and Katara often stated that it was one of her favorite spots on the whole island, so Sokka was quite positive if she was outside, she'd be there. Accordingly, he found the waterbender leaning against the banister, reading a letter. She was too absorbed in what she was reading to notice her brother's arrival and consequently had no warning before he playfully snatched the piece of parchment from her.

"Hey!" Katara laughed, struggling to retrieve the letter from Sokka. "Give that back!"

"What's so interesting about a piece of paper anyway?" Sokka teased, letting her snatch the letter back.

Katara playfully stuck her tongue out. "It's a letter from Aang."

"What's he say?" the warrior wondered, looking out over the azure waters of Yue Bay.

Katara sighed. "He's not coming home today. He won't be here until next week. He's going to miss my birthday after all."

The waterbender was frowning, but Sokka gave a small smile. He knew very well the reason Aang wasn't returning today, as planned. With Katara's twenty fifth birthday just a day away, the airbender hadn't wanted her to see her surprise. He and Sokka had long been planning the celebration and after much discussion, they settled on throwing a simple surprise party with just a few close family members and friends. The airbender had journeyed to Ba Sing Se for a conference with the Earth King and, before he'd left, he had decided he'd head to the Southern Water Tribe from there, to pick up Kanna and Hakoda. Katara had always expressed a desire to have her grandmother visit them on Air Temple Island, so she could see her new home, but Kanna's health hadn't been the best as of late. Still, Aang and Sokka had written to Hakoda detailing their plan regarding the waterbender's birthday and the chief had to admit, it was a rather sweet gesture. With the Avatar and his sky bison, travelling with Kanna seemed fairly easy and so, he'd agreed that their plan was feasible and readily consented. Thus, the airbender had written to his wife under the pretense of being delayed when, in actuality, he was speeding over the waters of the southern seas to pick up Hakoda and Kanna.

Sokka, for his part, felt that when it came to execution, he received the easy part of the plan. His job was simply to organize the small party they were throwing and to keep an eye on Katara. The warrior had enlisted Suki and Toph's help, so the celebration's planning was mostly taken care of. That just left him to watch Katara. Truthfully, both the airbender and the warrior had a valid reason for watching the waterbender that went beyond her discovering their plans; considering the simplicity of the affair, there was little Katara could discover about it. The real reason Sokka had watched her was because the airbender had simply asked him to. Katara was expecting and Aang had been hesitant to leave her and go, so he'd asked Sokka to keep an eye on her. Though she was about three weeks into her second trimester, the young Avatar didn't want to take any chances and since neither he nor Sokka were entirely comfortable leaving Katara alone on the island while Aang was away, the warrior had consented to spend time with his sister and keep her company.

Katara was certainly grateful for the company. For the three weeks that Aang was gone, it was nice to have Sokka and Suki staying with her, but she missed her husband. It wasn't often that Aang left, but when he did, she was often bored out of her mind. Nothing seemed to please her and she spent most of her time in the study, filling up journals, reading books, or practicing some waterbending. Occasionally, she'd offer her services at the infirmaries in Republic City, but with a baby on the way, she didn't want to risk contracting an illness, so she stayed mostly on the island, spending time with Sokka and Suki and occasionally Toph, when her work would allow her some free time. The waterbender was thankful for the company, but she couldn't help feeling like Sokka and Suki were keeping something from her. Every now and then, she'd catch them whispering things to each other and glancing at her (somewhat conspicuously, she noted) but the refused to tell her what it was about. She'd tried once or twice to pry it from them, but to no avail. They simply reassured her that it was nothing important and she shouldn't be worried. Still, Katara had a feeling that it had to do with her and tried her best to get them to open up. But, Sokka and Suki kept quiet until the day of her birthday.

The day of the waterbender's birthday dawned pleasant and clear and Sokka and Suki surprised her with a little breakfast celebration of their own, feigning regret that they couldn't do more for her celebration. Believing this to be all they'd planned, that waterbender thanked them profusely, admitting that it was very sweet of her brother and sister-in-law to do so, completely unaware of what (or more appropriately, who) was to come. Sokka felt rather pleased of the whole charade he and Suki had pulled off and for the rest of the morning, they went about their normal routines. It wasn't until afternoon that Katara sensed something was going on between the two. They were constantly looking out the window and scanning the horizons and nervously exchanging glances. At first, Katara simply tried to ignore them; if Suki and Sokka weren't going to tell her what was wrong, she wasn't going to pry. But after an hour, it became too much.

"What's going on?" Katara demanded. "What are you two keeping from me?"

Sokka opened his mouth to answer, but the front door was thrown open and Katara jumped at the sound of someone wishing her happy birthday. When she'd regained her composure and realized it was father, she simply threw her arms around him and smiled.

"I didn't know you were coming," she exclaimed, beaming at him.

"Believe it or not, I didn't either," Hakoda admitted, laughing.

"How's Gran-Gran?" Katara wondered. "Is she okay?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Hakoda chuckled, stepping aside so his mother could enter.

"Surprise!" Kanna laughed, hugging her granddaughter. "Happy birthday, my dear."

"I didn't think you'd come," Katara admitted, hugging her grandmother. "It's so good to see you again." She turned to Sokka and Suki and smiled. "You two planned this, didn't you?"

"We had some help," Suki admitted, nodding to another figure standing in the doorway. Katara expected to see Toph but was shocked to find Aang. The airbender received the most enthusiastic greeting from the waterbender (despite Sokka's comment about oogies) and just laughed, leaning down to kiss his wife.

"Happy birthday, Katara," he said, smiling softly.

"It's thanks to him we're here," Kanna admitted.

"But what about your conference?" Katara asked. "I thought…"

"What we wanted you to think," Sokka said, grinning. "It wouldn't be much of a surprise if we told you Dad and Gran were coming, would it?"

"I guess not," Katara admitted, laughing. "Thank you all, so much."

"We had the easy part," Suki laughed. "Poor Aang had to run halfway across the world to get your dad and your grandmother."

"It was worth it though," Aang said lightly, wrapping his arms around the waterbender.

"I don't think I can take any more surprises," Katara said, grinning at her family. "This is already too much."

"Well, we've still got a couple more things to share," Sokka said, grinning. "We're having a celebratory dinner tonight, once Toph is done working."

"And presents to open," Aang added, procuring some packages for her.

"You didn't have to buy me presents," Katara protested.

"I didn't," Aang laughed. "But I have strict orders from the Firelord and Fire Lady to have you open these presents since they couldn't be here and another one from Iroh."

Katara opened all of them as she was told. Zuko had managed to find an ancient waterbending scroll for her and Mai had given her a book on waterbending that was said to have come from Wan Shi Tong's library itself. Both had new and useful information and Katara made a mental note to write them a thank you note. Iroh had sent her a whole box full of tea leaves, which surprised no one.

"They're supposed to be good for the baby too," the airbender explained. "Iroh swears by it."

"He swears by all his teas," Sokka laughed, rolling his eyes.

Aang handed the waterbender another package and she looked at him curiously.

"From me," he explained. The waterbender hastily undid the wrappings and pulled out an authentic Air Nomad dress.

"I didn't know they sold airbender clothes," Sokka said, impressed.

"They don't," Aang said.

"Then how'd you get that?" the warrior wondered.

"I made it."

"You made it?" Sokka echoed. "You know how to make clothes?"

Aang shrugged. "Most of the monks in the Southern Air Temple did; we were taught at a young age because the women weren't around to help up."

"Really? What else don't we know about you?" Sokka demanded.

Aang just shrugged, grinning. "I guess I'm just mysterious."

"Okay, spill," Sokka demanded. "What else can you do?"

"Probably a lot more than you can," Katara teased, before thanking Aang and giving him a quick kiss.

"This is, by far, the best birthday party ever," Katara admitted.

"Well, it's only going to get better, I'm told," Hakoda said.

"It's perfect as it is. I'm not one for surprises, but this day has been amazing and it's scarcely over."

"Special occasions warrant special surprises," Kanna said, smiling. "Now, I do believe Aang mentioned something about lunch. All that flying has worked up my appetite."

"Right behind you, Gran," Sokka said, as they followed Suki to eat. Katara and Aang followed at a slower pace.

"You know," the waterbender said, casually. "When we got married, you promised you wouldn't keep any secrets from me, but you've already broken that."

"Oh, I know," the airbender replied, smiling. "But I had to."

"You didn't," Katara corrected. "But all the same, I'm glad you did. Some secrets are worth keeping."


	13. Fairytales

_A/N: New chapter! I think it's already been established that I am, in fact, a terrible person for taking forever to get requests done and that I can't apologize enough for doing so. In spite of that, I'm going to apologize (again) for taking forever and a day to get this request done. I can only hope that this was somehow worth the wait. ^^' All credit for the idea goes to Alveria. Hope it's decent! Happy readings!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

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**XIII. Fairytales**

Katara was engrossed in a book. It wasn't difficult to tell she was into it when Aang called her name and the waterbender didn't reply and when Sokka had jokingly said he was on fire and she'd responded with something along the lines of "that's nice" and "have fun." Why the waterbender was so absorbed in a book, no one could say, but it was evident that, until she finished the novel, Katara wasn't going to engage in any social activities or make attempts at a conversation unless she was simply acknowledging someone's presence or offering her thanks in return for a meal or some other necessity. Sokka didn't see what was so great about some silly story of a young couple gallivanting through some forbidden and treacherous forest, but if Katara found it appealing, he wasn't going to interfere with her reading.

"So much the better if she's reading all day," he said. "At least she won't nag us now about helping out. I mean, we're practically taking over her shift!"

It was true to a certain degree, Aang supposed. Iroh had been kind enough to let them stay at the Jasmine Dragon for the duration of their trip and in return, Aang, Katara, Suki, and Sokka had offered to help him run the place. They figured it was the least they could do since Iroh had let them use his guest rooms free of charge, instead of sending them to an inn. And, as Zuko had once told them, it was a fairly soothing and calming job. After saving the world, even mundane tasks such as sweeping and serving tea seemed fun. And when they weren't helping about at the shop, they were simply sitting and relaxing. Katara spent every moment of that time reading.

At first, Aang wasn't too bothered by the waterbender's behavior. After all, if anyone deserved time off to enjoy a good book, it was certainly Katara. But, the waterbender had already gone through several books and she'd missed a good deal of the fun. Even worse, the airbender realized, was that she'd completely forgotten about their date. Aang wasn't too upset, however, because he knew the waterbender hadn't intentionally missed it. Though their relationship was still somewhat in its infancy (they'd only been together for a few months), they were at a comfortable stage where going on dates wasn't an outing filled with shyness and awkwardness, but rather one where the two were at ease with each other and could talk, laugh, and joke with each other as if they'd been together for years. He knew he could always ask Katara to accompany him on a date some other time, but the waterbender didn't seem inclined to go anywhere really, unless she absolutely had to.

"What's so great about this book anyway?" Aang wondered, one evening, glancing over Katara's shoulder to read a bit.

The waterbender shrugged. "The novelty of it, I suppose," she replied. "We didn't have access to many books, if any, growing up in the South Pole."

"Not even one?" Suki asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

Katara shrugged again. "I don't know. I can't recall ever really having any books and reading for pleasure. I'm sure there were books at one time in the Southern Water Tribe, but I always assumed most of them had been destroyed in raids and such because I don't ever remember seeing people with books at hand. And once the men of the tribe left to fight in the war, all the work fell to the women and children, so we didn't have much time for reading for pleasure."

"But there had to have been at least one book, right?" Suki questioned.

Katara looked thoughtful. "I suppose so, because we learned to read, though I can't remember how. But, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the books we had had been destroyed or used a fuel for fires to keep warm in winter. We had some tough winters to weather."

"It'd be nice if a certain someone took more interest in books than in food," Suki teased, pointedly glancing at Sokka.

"Sokka says he's too manly for this kind of stuff," Katara replied, giggling. "Good luck trying to get him to read anything with romance in it."

"I'll need all the luck I can get if I'm going to try that," Suki joked.

Sokka scowled. "I can hear you, you know?"

Katara just laughed and resumed her reading.

"It's such a good book," she admitted, when Aang asked her later how she'd enjoyed the book. "You should read it. You might enjoy it."

Aang stared at the bound volume for a moment before carefully picking it up and scanning the first page. It seemed interesting enough and it wasn't long before he was caught up in the plot and as engrossed in it as his girlfriend had been. Sokka had teased him endlessly after that, for reading some silly romance novel, but the airbender took it all in stride. It wasn't such a bad book, he explained, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it.

He and Katara had lengthy discourses surrounding the novel, afterwards. They spent hours gushing over the young couple and debating about the choices the heroine and her companion had made and whether or not one character deserved his fate and whether the other character had gotten his just reward. Sokka teased them mercilessly about their debates as he was often apt to do, but neither one of them really minded and, they certainly didn't stop just because of Sokka was constantly laughing at them.

Truthfully, thought, they both enjoyed their discourses simply because they got to spend time together doing something they liked. Aang had never really had much time to read for pleasure, but Katara thought it was incredibly sweet that he made time to read and discuss with her. So, as the days passed, the number of books the pair read increased. And after each book, they'd debate about anything and everything they could.

"You know," Katara mused, one evening as the pair sat on the steps leading up to Iroh's shop, discussing the latest novel amongst themselves. "Gran Gran and my mom would tell me all sorts of stories like this, about princesses who go on all sorts of adventures before finding their true love and living happily ever after. For the longest time, I would wish I had a fairytale life like they did. But when the war came, I guess I kind of gave up on that dream. And it's funny, because if you asked me if I'd want that fairytale life now, I'd say no."

"You sound so sure," Aang noted, smiling. "What makes you so sure that you'd turn an offer like that down?"

Katara's eyes were twinkling. "Because, the life I have now is better than any fairytale."

Aang chuckled. "If you say so."

He sounded as if he didn't quite agree with the waterbender, but he realized the truth in her words. He'd often fantasized about being a normal airbending monk instead of being the Avatar, but he was certain he'd have never met Katara and ended up where he was currently if he _hadn't_ been who he was. And, as desirable as that life seemed, Aang knew he wouldn't trade the world for the life he had now, hardships and all. The sudden epiphany had put Aang in a rather pensive mood for the rest of the day and he found himself think a good deal about the verity of Katara's words. His thoughtfulness didn't escape the attention of others and Sokka even questioned him about it.

"You've been doing an awful lot of thinking lately," the warrior noted. "Too much thinking can't be good for you."

"Actually, Sokka, I think that applies to you alone," Katara said, from her place beside Aang. Sokka stuck his tongue out at her but otherwise ignored her.

"What's on your mind, buddy?" Sokka wondered. He wasn't prepared for Aang's lengthy response, but to his credit, Sokka was the one to launch an intellectual discussion this time. Katara watched them discuss and marveled at how her brother could come across as incredibly silly one minute, but then have a serious, intellectual debate the next. There was no denying Sokka was smart; Katara just wished he'd display that intelligence and ingenuity more often and not just when they were in mortal danger and/or needed a plan.

Katara watched the two converse. It was funny, she mused, how ardently they were debating. Aang had mentioned something she'd said and Sokka had commented on it and they'd launched a whole new debate. And so they talked, arguing (amiably, Katara was pleased to note) back and forth as the evening hours trickled by. It wasn't long before Katara started feeling drowsy, but she fought sleep in an attempt to keep track of the conversation. It was of little use because a few minutes later, she'd dozed off amid Sokka and Aang's laughter over something the warrior had said.

Fairytale lives are overrated, the waterbender thought as sleep claimed her. Who needs a fairytale life when I've got such wonderful friends?

* * *

Aang realized rather quickly that Katara was tired. It wasn't hard to see that the waterbender was struggling to keep her eyes open. Every so often, she'd release a huge yawn and it was all the airbender could do to convince her to go to bed. But the waterbender was stubborn as always and steadfastly refused to sleep until everyone else went to bed. Aang didn't see the need for her to stay up, considering he and Sokka were the only other occupants in the room, but the waterbender fought sleep all the same. So, she spent her time trying to follow Aang and Sokka's conversation but it wasn't too long before she dozed off. Sometime later, Aang became aware of a weight on his shoulder and didn't need to look to know that Katara had fallen asleep. Laughing softly to himself, the airbender scooped her up and took her to room, setting her down gently on her bed. The waterbender mumbled his name once, but didn't wake up and the airbender breathed a sigh of relief, draping a blanket over her and silently exiting her room. Although it was fairly late, the Avatar wasn't feeling the least bit drowsy so he returned to the settee with a book in hand and spent some time reading. It wasn't something he often had the time to do, so it was easy to imagine why he became so engrossed in the book. He barely registered the sound of a door opening and hardly noticed who was up until Katara came and sat beside him.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" He wondered.

"I was comfortable before," she mumbled, suppressing a yawn and curling up beside him. "I'm comfortable now too. I don't really feel like moving."

Aang smiled but otherwise didn't say anything and Katara dozed off once again in the silence.

The following morning, when Sokka woke up, he found his sister and the airbender fast asleep on the settee. Katara's legs were thrown over the airbender's and her head was resting on his shoulder. Aang, for his part, didn't seem to mind it since he was practically grinning in his sleep. The book they had been reading was resting haphazardly between them, on the settee and the warrior smiled to himself. Privately, Sokka admitted that it was endearing… but, he'd never tell them that.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! As always thank you all so much for all the lovely reviews and the support! I can't tell you all how much it means! ^_^_

_~ Cassidy_

_P.S. I do have a couple more requests to get through, which I'm working on and will try to have up ASAP! _


	14. Simplicity

_A/N: Happy Kataang week! ^_^ As usual, I procrastinated a bit and whipped this up in a bit, so I hope it's decent, given that I wrote this in an hour or so. Happy readings!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. ^^_

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_Day I: Hands_

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**XIV. Simplicity**

There were few things that made Katara stop in her tracks and drop what she was doing. Naturally, if one had seen the waterbender enter her house and had heard the clang of the wooden basket filled with clothes as it hit the ground and Katara's sudden lack of movement, they'd have assumed something had gone wrong. Indeed, there were a good many things that could've gone wrong that day, not the least of which was baking bread and nearly setting the house on fire in a cooking accident. But, for once, what caused her to stop and literally drop what she was doing wasn't something awful. For once, it was something so heartbreakingly beautiful, Katara thought she really might cry, though that may have been because the hormones from her second pregnancy were influencing her emotions.

The waterbender had left the house to wash and dry the clothes while Aang kept an eye on little Kya, who kept running about the house. Normally, laundry didn't take long but Katara had washed a rather large amount of clothes and it had taken her a while to wring them all out and hang them up in one of the courtyards in main house. Waiting for them to dry and folding them had taken even longer and it was well past midday when she was done. By the time she'd come back, Aang lay sprawled on the couch with little Kya on top of him. Both were napping and Kya was clutching a stuffed doll Katara had made for her in one hand and sucking her thumb as she slept. Her dark hair fanned out behind her and Aang had one arm looped protectively around her. Katara wished she had one of those new-fangled contraptions (a camera, was it?) that captured images and could be persevered forever because an endearing scene like this was worth preserving. She stared at her husband and daughter a minute longer, smiling to herself, before she stooped down and picked up the basket of clothes and set them in her room. Aang had given Kya her afternoon meal and she always slept afterwards, so Katara gently extracted her daughter from her husband's arms and carried her to her room. Kya stirred slightly and her eyebrows scrunched together, her tiny hands balling into fists, but Katara brushed her hair aside and gently kissed her forehead, before setting her down in her bassinet. The little toddler relaxed and Katara breathed a sigh of relief, before heading out.

She found Aang sitting on the settee, with his head back and eyes closed, when she returned to the sitting room. He looked tired and worn, but there was a smile on his face that made Katara feel like the luckiest woman alive for being the cause of it. Another man might have complained about playing silly games with his daughter after almost four days of nonstop work and little to no sleep, but Aang bore it all rather cheerfully. He'd been the one to ask Katara not to take Kya with her as she did the laundry because he'd hardly spent any time with her over the past few days and he was determined to play with her to make Katara's job easier. That alone had made Katara feel better, but seeing Aang sitting there, smiling like that because of his daughter- _their_ daughter- made Katara feel incredibly blessed.

The airbender smiled even brighter, if possible, when he saw Katara. His gray eyes were twinkling and his smile so impossibly wide, Katara couldn't help laughing.

"Had a nice nap?" She asked, laughing.

"The best," he admitted, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her down so she was seated next to him. "You should try it sometime. Too much work can't be good for you."

"And if I don't do the work, who will?" Katara demanded, allowing herself a few minutes to curl up beside Aang. The temptation to stay there and forget about her work was too great and Katara almost decided against leaving Aang's side, but at the last minute, she sighed and made a move to go. The evening chores weren't going to do themselves, she reasoned. But, before she could make it very far, the airbender pulled her back again.

"I know you love doing the chores so much," he teased. "But you really should relax."

"You're making it awfully hard for me not to relax," Katara chuckled, curling up beside him and resting her head on his shoulder.

He grinned. "Just doing my job."

Katara rolled her eyes but she was laughing.

"Aren't you tired, Aang?" She wondered, curling up beside him once again. The airbender wrapped an arm around her and his hand rested over hers on her protruding stomach.

"You mean from all the work?" He wondered. Katara nodded. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"You guess?" Katara repeated.

The Avatar shrugged. "I mean, I should be and until I step into the house, I am. But then, whenever I see you and Kya, I kind of forget about how tired I am because I'm too busy marveling how lucky I am to have two such wonderful girls in my life and thinking about how I hardly get to spend time with you, these days."

"Well, your work with the United Republic is probably more important."

"Not the way I see it," Aang laughed. "But honestly, being tired is a small price to pay for spending time with your daughter and wife. I can catch up on sleep later."

"A normal man would just catch up on sleep instead of making himself all the more tired by playing with his daughter and looking after his wife."

"Are you telling me I'm not normal?" Aang demanded, feigning indignation. "I'm hurt."

Katara just threw a pillow at him and rolled her eyes. "You are such an airhead," she laughed.

"Better than being a waterhead," he replied.

"Aang…"

"Yeah, that was so lame," he admitted, shaking his head and laughing.

"You've been spending too much time with Sokka," Katara said. "He's starting to rub off on you."

"Speaking of Sokka, he's coming over for dinner."

"And you're only telling me this now?" Katara cried. "I should be cooking."

"You should be resting," Aang corrected. "Honestly, Katara, do you even sit still for five minutes?"

"I try to, but there's so much to do."

" Well, then, I forbid you from getting up from this seat for an hour," Aang replied, smiling.

"You're joking right?"

"No."

"But, if I don't cook something before Sokka comes…"

"There's plenty of food and it isn't as if Sokka's going to eat everything we have," He pointed out.

"Yeah, but…"

"Just take a nap or something," the airbender said, closing his eyes. "An hour will go by before you know it."

Katara smiled and tried to do as she was told, but couldn't manage more than three minutes of attempting to nap. So instead, she let her mind wander as she absently traced the tattoos on Aang's hand. Her eyes took in the state of the sitting room and she made a mental note to take care of Kya's toys that were strewn about the floor. She wondered how her daughter had even collected so many toys, but then realized, a good majority of them had come from Aang and a good deal from Hakoda. Between the two of them and her uncle, Kya was sure to be spoiled rotten by the time she grew up. As it was, all three had little resistance to her and doted on her; Katara couldn't imagine what it'd be like when Kya was old enough to speak properly and demand things.

The waterbender was drawn away from her musings by a strong kick from the unborn baby within her. She and Aang often joked their unborn child was an earthbender because he (Katara was convinced it was a boy) had a strong kick and because Toph had once joked about him having the makings of an earthbender. The waterbender smiled to herself and beside her, Aang laughed.

"Even the baby's telling you to take a nap," he said, without even opening his eyes.

"How did you know I wasn't sleeping?" Katara demanded.

"I know you," was his reply.

Katara just poked him, eliciting a laugh.

"I can't nap, unlike you," she said.

"Then you're just going to have to sit still for an hour, because I'm not letting go of you."

"I don't mind," was her reply, though whether it was in response to Aang's comment of sitting still or not letting go of her, he couldn't say.

Katara once again let her mind wander again and found herself focusing on Aang's hands over her own. It was an odd subject to ponder and a regular person mightn't have seen the waterbender's fascination with his hand. After all, what was so remarkable about a hand? But, to the waterbender, the hand had suddenly become a fascinating subject to ponder. She hadn't really thought about it, but hands were more than just useful organs, vital to survival. They had the ability to cause great happiness, pain, and even great damage where bending was concerned. To Katara, it was amazing the power they wielded and yet how gentle they could be. She'd seen firsthand what Aang could do with his bending; even without the Avatar state, he was capable of great destruction. But, more often than not, those very same hands that bent the elements to his will were holding Kya's as she splashed in a shallow pool or held open to feed some small critters or gently wiping away tears whenever Katara or Kya cried. She'd heard about men and women who'd argue and hit their spouses in rage, but Aang's hands were never raised, especially not towards her or Kya. Even when they had their arguments, he'd never used them against her.

Katara recalled one particularly nasty fight the two of them had gotten into, when Kya was but a few months old. She couldn't remember the details of it, but it had left them feeling both hurt and Aang had flown away on Appa for some time, to think. Katara remembered watching him leave and asking him if he'd return and when, and the airbender had simply shrugged and replied that he honestly didn't know. But, he'd said, they both needed time to think things out clearly and he'd had gone off, leaving Katara all alone. She'd sat in a daze for nearly two hours, before she realized Aang had gone and then the torrent of tears came and she felt like she'd never wept more in her entire life. That was how the airbender had found her that evening, when he'd returned a few hours later. Instead of avoiding her, as a normal person who'd been in an argument might, he'd pulled her into his arms and wiped away her tears and apologized profusely for anything and everything he did and when she'd admitted she thought he'd been contemplating leaving for good, he had laughed softly, taken her hands in his and promised her he wouldn't unless she wanted him to.

Those same fingers that brushed away her tears so gently when she cried were often doing similar acts, Katara realized. Aang enjoyed combing Kya's hair and every morning, before he rushed off to work, Kya would grab her brush and scurry over to him as fast as her little legs would allow, hoist herself up onto his lap, and wait patiently while he worked through the knots in her hair and braided it. The waterbender smiled just thinking about it. She'd been partially responsible for getting Aang into this mess, even if he enjoyed it. She'd washed her hair one day and left it loose to dry and Aang had airbent it dry for her to save her time. Of course, it had become frizzy and knotted afterwards and she'd offhandedly made some comment about how long it would take her to brush it and the airbender had taken it upon himself to do it for her. So they'd sat while Aang gently ran his fingers through her hair and untangled the knots and plaited it for her. Kya had watched them and as soon as her father was done, she clambered up to sit on his lap and practically shoved her hair in his face and demanded he braid it. And when he'd finished, she'd smiled so impossibly wide and with such delight, her parents laughed and couldn't resist tickling her with the end of her braid. After that, Kya had developed an endearing habit of chasing her father (and her uncle and grandfather, when they visited) and trying to tickle them with the end of her braid. And, when her grandfather and her uncle were around, she often tried braiding their hair, much to Sokka's chagrin.

"It's a warrior's wolf tail," he'd complained as Kya tugged at it. "It's not meant to be braided."

Katara laughed at the memory. Kya had developed a fascination with braiding hair after she'd seen Aang do it and every so often, Katara would let her daughter braid her hair. Aang helped and together the two of them would plait Katara's hair and tie it and then they'd chase her around the house, trying to catch her to tug at it or tickle her with it.

"What's so funny?" Aang wondered, drawing her out of her reverie.

Katara shifted slightly and blushed. She wasn't quite sure how to explain herself.

"Nothing," she said, smiling. "Just thinking."

Aang smiled softly as Katara closed her eyes and rested her head on shoulder. He knew he should really attempt going over some proposals regarding the new United Republic, but with Katara next to him and his current sleep-deprived state, he didn't really feel like working. Wrapping his arms around the waterbender, he fell into a light sleep once more. Katara sighed in content and scooted closer to him. She opened her eyes to see Aang smiling and chuckled.

"Why are you smiling?" She asked.

"Because I'm happy and content," Aang said simply, lacing his fingers with hers.

Katara leaned up to kiss him and grinned. "That makes two of us," she said, as closed her eyes again. It always amazed how such a simple gesture as Aang wrapping his arms around her or lacing his fingers with her made her feel safe and protected. Until she'd met Aang, only her parents had ever made her feel that way. She thought of all the hunting trips she'd gone on with Hakoda and how he'd held her hand and Sokka's as they trekked deeper into uncharted territory or how sometimes her mother had taken her to the wharves to buy fish and they'd held on to each other as they wove through the crowds of merchants, fishermen, and villagers, back before the raids had started. When she'd been little, holding her parents' hands had always provided a sense of security and she thought nothing could ever compare to that until she and Aang started dating. After that, she realized he elicited the same feeling when he held her and she fell more in love with him, if such a thing were possible.

If Aang were to hear this, Katara mused, he'd think I'm crazy. She wanted to explain to him how she felt, but she couldn't quite figure out how to express it. It seemed strange to think that something as simple as hands could elicit such a variety of emotions, that those same hands that controlled all four elements could also be so used to make her laugh when he tickled her or make her feel safe when he intertwined their hands together or soothe her by running his fingers through her hair. The same hands that could be used to subdue and destroy if necessary were used to wipe away her tears and, occasionally, work through the knots in her hair, and frame her face when he kissed her. Katara didn't know how to express any of this, so she didn't. Instead, she buried her face in his shoulder and attempted to take a nap. The last thing she thought of before she dozed off was how incredibly lucky she was to have such a wonderful husband and daughter. And as sleep finally overtook her, she realized she'd never need more than this.

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_Thanks for reading and, as always, thanks for the reviews! You're all wonderful! ^-^_

_~ Cassie_


	15. Senescence

_A/N: New chapter, written for Day 2 of Kataang Week! Hope it's okay! Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. ^^_

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_Day II: Sleepy_

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**XV. Senescence**

"Gran Gran?"

Katara looked up from her position by the hearth and glanced at her granddaughter. Jinora was standing before her dressed in a nightgown and wrapped in a thick shawl to ward off the cold, South Pole chill that seemed to seep into the house. She held a set of three old, bound volumes in her hands and was smiling tiredly.

"Past your bed time, isn't it?" The old waterbender wondered, chuckling.

Jinora nodded. "Daddy doesn't like it when I stay up late and read, but I just had to finish reading your journals."

"Haven't you read them all before?"

The airbender nodded. "Yes, only about a dozen times, but they're fascinating and, well…"

"Well?" Katara prodded, smiling gently.

Jinora shuffled over to sit beside her grandmother and passed her the books. She fiddled with her fingers in her lap for a moment before she spoke in the softest of voices.

"Reading them always makes me feel closer to Grandfather."

Katara gave her an understanding smile. She often liked to spend time outside, listening to the wind. It was comforting and sometimes, she thought if she listened hard enough, she could hear Aang's voice whispering to her. The rational part of her was trying to tell her she'd gone senile and was just hearing what she wanted to hear, but some other part of her was convinced that her husband's laugh was echoing in the breeze.

"I wonder if he'd like us," Jinora sighed.

Katara chuckled. "He loves you, even if he can't be here to tell you that."

Jinora brightened and gave her grandmother a quick hug, before standing up and stretching.

"I'd better get back before Daddy sees me. Thanks for letting me borrow your journals again, Gran Gran. I wish there were more."

"Who says there aren't?" Katara demanded, her cerulean eyes twinkling. Beckoning for the young airbender to follow, Katara stood up and made her way to her room.

Jinora loved being in her grandmother's room. It smelled faintly of jasmine and was like being transported to another era entirely. The room was simple; aside from essentials there was nothing but a bookshelf, an ornamental shelf in one corner, and a trunk full of old belongings. On the nightstand beside the bed, there was a small framed painting of two young people, perhaps in their early twenties, smiling brightly. Jinora stared at the small portrait, glancing at the young woman. She was tall and slender and her eyes were sparkling vibrantly, even in the painting. She had a single flower in her hair and seemed to be laughing with her eyes. Her mouth was upturned in a happy smile and her hands were laced with the man's who stood next to her. The man was several inches taller and leaner, but he had the same infectious smile and the same sparkle in his eyes. He wore the markings of an airbending master and a necklace with the symbol of the Air Nomads around his neck. Jinora gazed at the picture, trying to imagine her grandmother with long, brown hair and looking so young and pretty. Beside the small portrait, there was a picture of an older woman and man who Jinora realized were also her grandparents. They looked to be about forty something and were standing proudly behind three children, who she realized were her dad and his siblings. Jinora gasped and peered closer at the blurry picture.

"Is that really Uncle Bumi?" she wondered.

Katara nodded. "He looks a lot different now, doesn't he?"

Jinora nodded. "So does Daddy. I almost didn't recognize him without his tattoos."

Katara smiled and handed her granddaughter a set of books. Jinora gazed at them in excitement and smiled widely.

"Thank you, Gran Gran! I'll read them as fast as I can."

"I have no doubt you will, my little bookworm," she teased. "But for now, you better get to sleep."

"I will. But, Gran Gran, is that really it?" The airbender pointed to a single flower in a vase on her nightstand. "Is that really a panda lily, like you wrote about?"

Katara laughed. "It's not real," she admitted. "But it is. Your grandfather made it for me since real panda lilies don't last long in the Water Tribes."

Jinora traced the wooden petals and sighed wistfully before tightening her hold on her grandmother's journals and scurrying out the door and to her room. Katara watched her go and laughed softly to herself, before putting out the flames in the hearth and returning to her room. The three volumes Jinora had finished were on her bed and Katara made a move to put them in the trunk at the foot of the bed, when another book caught her eye. Gingerly, she pulled out an old, worn volume with a red cover. The book itself had never belonged to her. It had been a present to Mai from her mother, but Mai had never even bothered opening it until Suki had commented on it, during one of their reunions. When they'd opened it, they'd all been surprised to discover it was blank. It was a sketchbook, but Mai had firmly declared she wasn't going to use it and had passed it off to the others. None of them had known what to do with it, so in the end, they'd filled the pages with silly drawings and clippings from papers and all sorts of things. Mai had surprised them all when she'd drawn beautiful pictures and Suki, when she'd made colorful little paintings from dyes she'd obtained from plants. Suki hadn't had a formal education in art, but as a nobleman's daughter, Mai had, and her art was surprisingly good. Katara remember asking her why she didn't draw more often and Mai had just shrugged and said she hadn't really cared to draw before. But, the little book was filled with a good number of her drawings, among others.

The waterbender flipped through the pages, chuckling at all she and her friends had compiled in it. She remembered spending warm, summer evenings, lying on the floor with her friends in Iroh's guest house as they all drew silly little doodles in the book and wrote funny quotes based on what they'd said. Zuko had scrawled some comment about honor and tea and Suki had drawn a small Kyoshi, bending the elements. Sokka had drawn a horribly misshapen Appa and had reproduced his old painting featuring all of them in the book, and Toph had just painted her hands and pressed them against the paper. Aang had drawn a little picture of himself on a glider with Katara on top and Katara smiled fondly, tracing the outlines of the drawing. She'd never been an artist but she prided herself on her calligraphy and had written some things in her elegant hand. The rest of the book contained clippings from newspapers, such as an article about Zuko's wedding, the new Republic City, and the United Nations. After that, the pages had been filled with pressed flowers such as the ones Mai wore on her wedding, and even the one Katara had worn at hers. The waterbender continued flipping through the book and came to stop at the last page.

The page was filled with all sorts of notes from all of them and they'd each signed their names at the bottom. But, what really caught Katara's attention was a small drawing of the Water Tribe insignia infused with the symbol of the Air Nomads. Beneath it, written in Aang's neat handwriting, were four words.

_I love you, Katara. _

The waterbender traced the designs over and over again, her eyes welling up with tears. It was times like these, she wished Aang was with her. She missed him terribly and would've given anything to see him again. But, she knew all the wishing in the world wouldn't bring him back. Sighing to herself, her cheery mood somewhat ruined, Katara closed the book and tucked it away in the chest. She crawled into her bed and picked up one of her journals and began reading. It had been a long while since she'd opened the books and gazed at her descriptions of the adventures she and Aang had had, but she wasn't in the mood to sleep despite how weary she was. So, the old master spent almost the entire night awake. By the time she'd finished the last journal it was nearly dawn. Only then, did the waterbender attempt to get some rest.

Truthfully, Katara hated going to sleep. It wasn't so much the random bouts of insomnia so much as the emptiness that bothered her. Aang's side of the bed was always empty and just staring at it made Katara feel miserable sometimes. She hated going to bed without feeling his arms wrapped around her or waking up without him pressing a kiss to her forehead. Gazing at the unoccupied spot beside her always made her feel lonely and she dreaded going to sleep feeling like that and knowing no one would be there when she woke up. Tonight, however, she wasn't dreading rest for the first time in a long time. In sleep, for once, there were happier memories to get lost in, and the waterbender fell asleep with a smile on her face for the first time in a while.

If she'd possessed a sixth sense, Katara would've seen an ethereal figure outlined by a hazy, bluish light, standing beside her bed and gazing fondly at her. She'd have likely laughed and cried and smiled at the sight of Aang and reveled in the warmth of his touch as his hand brushed aside a recalcitrant strand of gray hair. But, the waterbender was too far gone, too lost in pleasant memories of happier times when her husband was still alive, to notice his spirit hovering protectively over her. She only felt a slight chill, as his hands gently tugged up the blanket around her and heard only the unintelligible whispers of the wind as he sat beside and whispered quietly to her how much he loved her. Come morning, the former Avatar knew she'd know and remember nothing of his visit, but it didn't matter. For the first time in a long time, Katara was sleeping soundly and that was all that mattered to him.

When Katara awoke the following morning, blinking drowsily in the early morning light that filtered into her room, she was surprised to discover it had snowed the previous night. The discovery shouldn't have been startling considering she'd lived in the South Pole for years, but she hadn't been expecting snow so soon. Gingerly getting out of bed, the waterbender made her way to the far end of the room to get her everyday clothes and get ready. But, something caught her eye and she made her way to the sole window in her room. The glass had frosted over the course of the night, but someone had written a message on it. The waterbender's belongings slipped from her hand as she read four simple words that could've only been written by one person.

_I love you, Katara._

The waterbender touched the pendant of her necklace and smiled.


	16. Symphony

_A/N: New chapter! Written for Day 3 of Kataang Week. Hope it's decent. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. ^^_

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_Day III: Dance_

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**XVI. Symphony**

When Katara opened the door to her room and peered out into the corridor, she was surprised to find the house wasn't empty. The Earth King had invited a good majority of Ba Sing Se and important aristocrats and officials from all over the world to celebrate his birthday and Katara had assumed her fiancé and friends had gone. She'd helped Suki pick out a dress and she'd even gone shopping for one herself and they'd all planned to go, but in the end, only Suki and Toph had accompanied Sokka to the festival. Aang was supposed to meet them there after a quick conference with the Council of Five, but it was evident from the laughing in the room, Aang had elected to stay behind. Katara had half a mind to walk in there and scold him for staying back, but she didn't really have it in her.

The airbender smiled at Katara when he noticed her poking her head out. His eyes were sparkling and his lips turned up in a smile and Katara couldn't help laughing.

"Feeling better?" Aang asked.

Katara nodded. She'd been set to go to the Earth King's celebration but hadn't been feeling too well after her afternoon meal. She'd convinced the others to go to the celebration without her while she rested, but Aang seldom seemed to listen to her.

"Why are you here?" Katara demanded. "You should be out, having fun."

"It wouldn't be much fun without you," Aang replied, smiling.

"Well, I'm feeling much better now," Katara said. "I'll go get changed and we can go to the celebration."

"No, don't," Aang said hastily, blushing a bit. "I'd rather not go there and listen to King Kuei talk about Bosco or talk to people all night."

"Then, what did you have in mind?" Katara wondered.

The airbender grinned and simply took her hand, tugging her out of the house.

"Follow me."

Outside, the streets were practically deserted. It seemed like everyone in the Upper Ring had gone off to celebrate with their monarch and the Middle Ring wasn't much better. Ba Sing Se's university was also hosting a celebration of sorts for the monarch and it seemed like all those who hadn't received invites to the gala in the palace had gathered there for their own celebration. Katara found it slightly strange as she and Aang passed the university but she shrugged it off. She supposed people didn't really need an excuse to celebrate and if a king's birthday gave them a reason to have a party, the people were apt to throw one.

The airbender led her on through the Middle Ring and down to the Lower Ring. Here, the festive atmosphere hadn't been lost on people. The streets were decorated with lanterns and streamers and Katara could hear a string quartet playing somewhere. There were dozens of locals milling about on the streets, drinking and laughing and it all seemed so cheery and warm there, Katara was tempted to ask Aang to stay. But the airbender seemed to have a different agenda and Katara didn't want to ruin his plan, so she kept quiet and followed him wordlessly. Occasionally, they stopped to talk to a local merchant or to some small children who were quite enthralled by Aang, or for Aang to buy something (what those things were, Katara had yet to ascertain because Aang had given her strict orders not to come in and ruin his surprise for her) from a local shop but for the most part, they walked without interruptions.

Their wanderings led them to a grassy hill overlooking the cityscape of Ba Sing Se. A lone tree stood proudly atop the hill, but save for that tree and a lone bird roosting atop it, there was nothing else there. Katara gazed around quizzically, but Aang was grinning.

"What are we doing here?" She wondered.

"You'll see," The airbender promised. "But, for now, close your eyes."

"If this is some sort of trick," Katara began, closing her eyes. "I swear to Tui and La, I'll…"

"You'd be swearing to fish," Aang teased, kissing her. "And I'm not dumb enough to leave you here and wander off. Now, shush!"

Katara shook her head and laughed, but complied.

She heard the opening and closing of the basket Aang had purchased and the rustle of some sort of fabric. For a minute, all was quiet but then she felt Aang airbending. She heard odd noises after that and wondered just what Aang was up to, but nothing could have prepared her for what she was greeted with when Aang asked her to open her eyes several minutes later.

Before her, spread out on a blanket, was a beautiful little picnic with all of her favorite foods. In the center of it all, was a tiny, clay vase with a single panda lily, and above them, hung several decorative lanterns, glowing with a soft warm light. Katara gaped at the spread for a number of seconds before turning to a grinning Aang.

"What's the occasion?" She wondered.

Aang shrugged. "Does there have to be one?"

"Well, no, but most people only take their fiancées out when it's a special occasion, not simply because they can or because they wanted to."

"Well, I wanted to," Aang said. "Besides, I figured you'd like this better than attending that party, as nice as it may be."

Katara nodded. "I'm sure the Earth King really knows how to throw a birthday party, but this is so much better. I'd rather spend my time with you."

"The feeling's mutual," the airbender replied, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

The waterbender turned her gaze from her fiancé to the wonderful spread placed before her. Aang had somehow managed to find authentic Water Tribe noodles, stewed sea prunes, and even her favorite fruit: mangoes.

"You remembered," Katara exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

Aang playfully stuck his tongue out. "I never forgot."

"Did you make all this food?" Katara wondered, gazing at him in astonishment.

Aang laughed. "Are you kidding? If I'd cooked it, I'd never have given it to you; it'd probably have tasted awful. I didn't cook anything."

"Then where did you get all this food?"

"There's a small Water Tribe restaurant in the Lower Ring. I figured they'd have the closest thing to authentic Southern Water Tribe food in the city."

Suddenly, his insistence against Katara entering those shops with him made sense. The waterbender smiled and kissed Aang's cheek.

"Thank you," she said, unable to stop smiling. "I love this and you."

Aang just grinned, feeling pleased he'd managed to make their evening infinitely better.

The two mostly ate in silence, enjoying the food. Occasionally, Katara commented on something, but for the most part, they just sat side by side, beneath the tree and gazed at the cityscape of Ba Sing Se spread out all around them. High above, the sky was stained with the colors of sunset and the rooftops of Ba Sing Se were bathed in the soft evening glow. Dozens of streets were lit with festive lanterns and they could hear the faint sound of music being played somewhere. In the distance, Katara could just make out the dome of the palace glowing as the evening light reflected off its surface. Somewhere inside, Sokka was probably eating or dancing with Suki and Toph was probably earthbending in a corner or making fun of Sokka. The thought made Katara smile.

"So, why are we here of all places?" Katara wondered, turning to Aang.

The airbender smiled and pointed to the horizon. At first, Katara saw nothing but a few wispy clouds, stained by the colors of sunset, floating past them. There was nothing quite so remarkable about them; they were just clouds after all and she'd seen them plenty of times. Aang wouldn't have taken her to an isolated area such as this to gaze at clouds when they were perfectly capable to doing so from their house in the Upper Ring.

So what does that leave? The waterbender mused, staring hard at the horizon. She hadn't been expecting an answer right away and nearly jumped out of her skin when a loud noise echoed across the city. Above the palace, a colorful array of sparks exploded and Katara's eyes widened.

"Fireworks!" She cried, gleefully. "Oh, Aang…!"

Aang didn't say anything but watched them explode for a minute before turning to watch Katara. She was gazing at them in amazement, as if they were the most mesmerizing thing in the world. To her, they may very well have been. Prior to leaving the South Pole, she hadn't seen any and during their days travelling, it was exceedingly rare to catch them. They'd seen it perhaps only once or twice and Aang knew his fiancée truly enjoyed watching them. He'd have watched them too, but it was more entertaining and far more fulfilling to watch her face light up with joy and excitement as the colorful fireworks lit up the sky. By the time they'd finished, the evening had slipped away and twilight had descended upon the city. Katara sat still for some time, gazing at the place where the fireworks had glowed just moments before, a wide smile on her face. Aang wordlessly packed their belongings back into the picnic basket before and fished out something buried within. Katara turned to gaze at it and was puzzled when Aang hid it in his hands.

"No peeking," he said, still smiling.

Katara sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, an apple was resting in her hands. The waterbender stared hard at it for a second before her gaze flicked up to meet Aang's.

"An apple?" She wondered.

Aang nodded, blushing. "It's kind of silly, but in the Eastern Air Temple, the nuns would give all the little airbenders apples to feed to the sky bison. If a sky bison ate the apple you offered it, it meant you'd be companions for life. I don't know if it would work on humans, but…well, I thought it wouldn't hurt letting you know," he admitted, shyly.

Katara stared at the apple in her hand before throwing her arms around Aang and burying her face in his shoulder. She was shaking, but Aang couldn't tell if it was from laughter or tears. When she pulled away, however, he realized it was probably both. Her smile was wide and bright and her eyes glazed over in tears, and she kissed him as if he'd forsaken the world for her a second time.

"I love you," she whispered, when they'd parted for air. Her cerulean eyes were brighter than stars and she was still smiling. Aang laughed and wrapped his arms around her and the two ate their apples in silence. When they were finished, they took one last look at the streets of Ba Sing Se, glowing in the soft, golden light of lanterns, and journeyed back the way they came.

Admittedly, the trip back took longer than it should have. Aang and Katara were in no hurry and strolled leisurely, hand in hand, back to their house in the Upper Ring. They took the long way, stopping at the fire fountain in the Lower Ring and chatting with a few people in the Middle Ring before making it to their street. By then, twilight had faded and gray clouds loomed overhead, foretelling of rain. The two just made it to the foot of the steps leading up to their house when the rain started. It was a gentle rain that hit the streets with a soft _pitter-patter_ and felt warm against the skin. Katara gazed up at the clouds overhead, totally unconcerned about her hair or her dress. She bent he droplets in an arc over her head and spun. When the droplets caught the soft glow of lanterns permeated the haze, they created a mystifying effect. Aang watched her bend and spin for some time before he caught joined her. He caught her mid-spin and laced his fingers with her and they spun together.

"What are we doing?" Katara laughed, her wet hair flinging droplets of water everywhere.

"Dancing."

"But there's no music."

"There is if you listen hard enough," Aang said, winking.

Katara pondered over that for some time before she realized there was truth in Aang's words. The soft rain falling from above, the sounds of the trees swaying in the gentle breeze, and the splashing of their feet as they danced were the music. Their heartbeats, completely in sync, were the song and the soft murmur of critters as they rushed to hide from the downpour was the orchestra. True, they certainly couldn't hear the melody of the tsungi horn or violin as they danced, but that didn't mean there wasn't any music.

Even many years later, as the music faded and one singer stopped singing, the song continued. An older and wiser Katara lay curled up in bed, her resting peacefully. Her heartbeat continued tapping out the same familiar rhythm it was accustomed to but suddenly, and without any indication, faltered. The old waterbender hardly noticed and didn't stir in her sleep as the beat tried to regain its tempo. It sputtered, then slowly stopped. And the song ended.

Afterwards, it was quiet for some time. But then, almost instantaneously, the song picked up again, on a new note and in a new place. And although there was a different melody this time and a different orchestra, the singers were still the same and the tune just as familiar and their dance just as beautiful.

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_Thank you all so much for reading and for the lovely reviews! You're all amazing!_

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	17. Everlasting

_A/N: Written for Day 4 of Kataang Week. I honestly feel like this isn't that great, but I'll leave that for you readers to decide! Happy readings!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything! ^^_

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_Day IV: Smirk_

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**XVII. Everlasting **

At fifteen, Katara had experienced enough pain and sadness to last a lifetime. After nearly losing her life and her family, and losing her best friend, it was a miracle she'd managed to keep herself together. There were times she struggled to do so; it was hard and fighting the tears, the pain, and the ache the gaping hole in her heart left, was sometimes too much, but she fought against it all the same. Still, there were some days when it was too much and she let herself go completely. Today was one of them.

There was a small unmarked cairn by eddies of a small pond. It was there the waterbender stood, head bowed and tears streaming down her face. She stood there for what felt like an eternity, though in reality, it couldn't have been but a few moments, before she spoke. The words were soft and barely audible, but they were heard all the same.

"Happy birthday, Aang."

And a small flower was placed at the base of the cairn before the waterbender collapsed to her knees and sobbed. It was the same every year. She promised herself she wouldn't cry; _he _wouldn't want her to, especially not on his birthday. But standing by the pond, listening to the wind whisper to her and feeling the same pain she always felt…it was too much. In that moment, it didn't matter who saw her or what they thought; she was too tired to care of what a passerby might think and lay huddled at the base of the cairn, letting loose all the pent-up frustration, pain, and sadness she'd kept bottled up inside her. But, it didn't last long.

In spite of having her head buried in her hands, she was able to make out a faint ethereal glow from nearby. Amidst the tears, it hardly registered, but a soft hand on her shoulder caused her to look up and the sight the met her took her breath away and nearly caused her to faint. The hand on her shoulder fell away as she stood up, and reached out to wipe away her tears. The waterbender jumped when she felt soft fingers (blue ones, she noted, so very blue) gently brush them away. Cautiously, she extended her arm as if to intertwine her fingers with that of the person standing before her, but she hesitated. Was it even remotely possible that this wasn't a dream?

She received her answer when her fingers met that of the figure's before her and intertwined with his. Contrary to expectations, she could feel his touch and lifted her tearstained gaze to meet that of the young man before her. He smiled sadly and Katara tried to do the same, but her smile faltered.

"Is it really you, Aang?"

The airbender nodded and, this time, Katara didn't bother containing her sob. With a mixture of elation and sadness, she flung her arms around the airbender and buried her face in his shoulder, and cried harder. Somewhere in the back of her mind, it registered that he was blue and very dead, and she hated it. Blue had always been one of her favorite colors, but suddenly, she hated it with a passion she didn't know was possible for her.

"I can't believe it's really you," she said. "I thought I'd never see you again."

The airbender didn't laugh or smile, but simply held her tighter, as if memorizing the way she felt in his arms. "I had to see you one last time."

Katara pulled away slightly and looked at him in a mixture of confusion and fear. "What do you mean 'one last time'?" She demanded. "You can't…"

His lips were on hers before she could finish her sentence.

"I love you," he whispered, softly. Katara could feel him slowly fading and clung to the fabric of his robes.

"Aang…"

But he was gone in a matter of seconds and only the feel of something in her hand was a reminder that he'd ever been there. Slowly uncurling her fingers, the waterbender glanced at the object reposing on her palm. It was a simple necklace, adorned with a single flower and made out of fishing line and Katara's eyes watered as she stared at it. With trembling fingers, she clasped it around her neck and faced the cairn with a shaky breath and an equally shaky smile. It was so like Aang to make her smile, even when she was feeling pain beyond belief. Drying her tears, the waterbender turned to leave, but stopped momentarily to deliver one last message that didn't go unheard.

"I love you too, Aang."

The late Avatar, blue and transparent and unable to be seen though he still stood before the waterbender, simply smiled and whispered her name. It sounded eerie in the silence and Katara couldn't bear to hear it. She shut her eyes and covered her ears, but his voice echoed louder and louder until Katara felt sick. The world seemed to spin around, blending into a colorful mess and the last thing she saw, was a silhouette in blue, before everything went black.

When Katara opened her eyes again, she was in bed. Soft beams of moonlight were streaming in through the window and a gentle breeze was whistling through the eaves. Her husband lay curled up beside her and the waterbender was thrilled to note she wasn't fifteen and that he wasn't blue. Katara scared him half to death when she threw her arms around him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, drowsily.

"You're not blue and thirteen and gone," Katara said, sighing in relief.

"What?"

"Nightmare," she admitted.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It was just a dream. You're not a spirit; I've never been more thankful in my life!"

"Well, then you should get some rest. The kids will be up soon."

Katara curled up beside him as he closed his eyes.

"Aang?"

"Yeah?"

"Love you."

The airbender's response was a kiss to her forehead.

"Aang, will you make me a ridiculous promise?"

At that, the airbender opened his eyes and gazed at her quizzically.

"What is it?"

"Promise me you won't leave me?"

"Katara, that's not a ridiculous promise."

"It is too, because one day, you will."

"That's different."

"Is not."

Aang laughed. "It doesn't matter. I'm never leaving you. You married me, so you're stuck with me for eternity."

"I'm glad," The waterbender said.

"In any case, I've never had any resistance to you. You give me too much credit in assuming I'd be able to leave in the first place."

"Well, one day when we're old, you'll have to."

"Even then, I won't," he said, taking her hand. "You can't get rid of me so easily."

"Thank goodness for that."

"Go to sleep," Aang said gently. "With any luck, we can manage three hours before the kids wake up."

Katara didn't need to be told twice. Curled up against Aang, with his arm wrapped securely around her, she felt so comfortable, she fell into a peaceful sleep in minutes.

They only managed two and a half.

The following morning, neither of them were well rested, but Aang didn't seem to mind too much. He rushed through the morning chores cheerfully and helped Katara feed their kids breakfast. In spite of that, it seemed he had to leave all too soon.

"I'll be back tonight," he promised, giving her a quick kiss.

Katara nodded, but otherwise didn't say anything.

"Everything okay?" Aang asked.

"I just miss you a lot when you're at work," Katara admitted. "And I haven't been able to stop thinking about my dream. But, don't mind me. I'm just being silly, wishing you'd stay back for once."

"You're not being silly. I wish more than anything I could, but…"

"I know. It's okay, Aang. I'll see you later."

"You know, you could bring the kids and come with me."

"To work? What on earth would we do?"

Aang shrugged. "I think the kids would just be happy to get out of the house and besides, Sokka would be happy to see them. We don't do much but sit in our offices and go over paperwork. There're so many drafts and such and the council just passed something or other so that means there'll be enough so that I don't come out of my office for a long time."

"I wanna go!" Bumi cried.

"I don't know," The waterbender said. "Maybe some other time. You have meetings and stuff."

"And the rest of the day, I'm holed up in my office."

"Still."

"Well, if you ever change your mind…"

"I don't think I will," Katara laughed. "I have plenty to do here."

Aang just chuckled. "We'll see. I'll be back later."

Katara just waved as her husband hurried off and Bumi came to stand beside her, munching on his toast.

"Why does Daddy always leave so early?" he wondered. Katara scooped him up and deposited him gently in a chair so he wouldn't trail breadcrumbs everywhere.

"He has a lot of work to do, sweetie," She said, wiping some jam off his mouth.

"Can we go see him, Mommy?" Kya wondered, gazing up at her with wide eyes. "Please, oh please, can we?"

"Not today, Kya."

"Please?" She begged. "I wanna see his office."

"Kya…"

"Dada!" Baby Tenzin trilled.

"See! Even Tenny wants to go," Kya said.

"Finish your breakfast, Kya."

"Mommy…" she whined.

Bumi slipped out of his chair and tugged on Katara's dress. "Can we see his office?"

Katara sighed. "Maybe some other time, kids. Daddy has a lot of work to do."

Kya and Bumi looked crestfallen but didn't press her anymore. They were so dejected, they spent the morning half-heartedly trying to amuse themselves while Tenzin crawled about. By midday, Katara was so sick of their glum expressions, she caved in.

"Kya, Bumi, put your shoes on," She called, slipping Tenzin in his tiny ones. "We're going to surprise your father."

Kya and Bumi brightened instantly and practically assaulted her with hugs. Katara laughed watching them scurry to and fro collecting their toys and dumping them in their places before scrambling for their shoes. The waterbender set Tenzin down and stuffed several items in a basket, before scooping up her youngest, grabbing the basket, and motioning for Kya and Bumi to follow.

City Hall was eerily silent until Katara and her children entered. As soon as Kya and Bumi saw the door to Aang's office, they cheered and rushed in. Aang had been in the middle of going over some terribly boring documents and had never been more thankful to see his wife and kids.

"Look who changed her mind after all," he laughed, smirking at Katara.

Katara grinned and gave him a kiss. "Well, the kids were so disappointed they couldn't come, they wouldn't even play. So, I figured this would cheer them up. And, as you said, I have no real resistance to you. I wanted to come badly, I just didn't think it'd be appropriate."

"Why not? Toph barges in all the time and she's not part of the council."

"She's Chief of Police. She's important."

"So are you."

"Not really," Katara chuckled. "But, as long as the other council members don't mind…"

"They don't," A voice said. Katara turned to see Sokka standing in the doorway and Kya squealed and attached herself to his leg.

"Hey, squirt," the warrior laughed, picking her up. "What've you been up to?"

"Daddy's letting us play in his office." She said, solemnly. "We're going to play council."

Katara chuckled and turned back to Aang.

"We brought you lunch," She said.

"I hope you packed some extra, sis," Sokka said. "I'm famished."

"I did," Katara assured him.

"This is why you're my favorite sister," Sokka declared, hugging her.

Katara shook her head, laughing. "I'm your only sister."

"Now, about that food…"

The waterbender pointed to the basket she'd brought and Sokka grinned. Setting his niece down, he made a beeline for the food. While the adults ate, the three children played. Tenzin was too young to understand that the old papers he'd received were supposed to be pretend documents Councilwoman Kya needed. The whole concept of their imaginary game of council escaped him and he spent his time tearing paper into shreds or alternately trying to eat it. His sister had been so flustered with him, she voted him of the council, claiming he wasn't too good of a councilman. But Tenzin didn't seem to mind. He spent his time crawling over his father's desk, opening and closing drawers and napping when he got tired.

Admittedly, Aang was reluctant to have his family leave. He knew Katara would probably take the children back home once Tenzin fell asleep but, to his relief, the waterbender remained in his office with their children.

"I don't feel like leaving," she admitted. "I want to stay here, with you."

The airbender certainly had no objections, but he got the feeling there was more to Katara's insistence to stay than simply missing him. He told her as much when, later that evening, as they journeyed home. Katara was carrying a sleeping Tenzin and Bumi was dozing off in his father's arms. Kya, however was wide awake, and perched upon her uncle's shoulders and chattering away.

"I just wanted to spend time with you," Katara said. "After my dream last night, I just needed reassurance that things were okay."

"What happened in your dream?"

It was with some degree of difficulty that the waterbender explained. She didn't like dwelling on it, but she told Aang everything about her dream. When she'd finished, the airbender shifted his son in his arms and wrapped his free on around her.

"The war is over and we're both here and okay," he said, smiling in reassurance. "And I'm not going to go anywhere just yet. We've both worked too hard to get here and I'm not going to do something stupid and get myself hurt like that and never return."

"I know," Katara admitted. "But all the same, I think I just needed some more comforting. It was so real and it terrified me."

"I know, but you don't have to worry about losing me," Aang said. "We've both worried enough for a lifetime and I can promise you I'm never leaving you. Ever."

"That's one promise you can't keep."

"Watch me," Aang smirked. "Decades from now, my spirit will be hovering over you and the kids all the time, you'll wish you hadn't had this argument."

"How do you know you'll leave first?" Katara demanded.

Aang shrugged. "I don't."

Katara chuckled then sighed. "What a morbid subject. Let's change the topic."

The airbender cheerfully complied and instead the two focused on their children. It was much easier to forget Katara's nightmare and the grim subject they'd been conversing about before and by the time they arrived on Air Temple Island, it was all but forgotten. With Sokka over, the three children were having so much fun and Katara forgot all her worries watching her children play. And when she and Aang joined in on the fun, she knew she'd been foolish to let a little nightmare make her worry. She and Aang were together and they had a wonderful little family and the best of friends. Things could only get better from here.

"I'm keeping my promise to you, just so you know," The airbender said, that night as they lay in bed. "I'm never leaving you."

Katara just kissed him. "I know and I love you so much for it."

Privately, she thought the airbender was being just a tad bit silly for emphasizing that point so much, but she found he had good reason to. It was many decades later that she realized that there had indeed been a great deal of verity in Aang's words. Even though been lost to the world for nearly two decades, it was as if he hadn't left her at all. Katara swore she could hear his laugh echo in the wind and his voice whispering her name in the recesses of her mind. Sometimes, she thought she caught his spirit lurking in the shadows or thought she sensed his presence on those dark, dreary nights when she craved his company. It seemed as if he'd never truly vanished as Katara thought he had and she was immensely grateful. So, one year, as she and her three children (now all grown-up and leading lives of their own) walked along the icy banks of the Southern Water Tribe, talking cheerfully and reminiscing about their pleasant childhood, Kya was surprised to discover that Katara wasn't really into the conversation. Considering it was Aang's birthday and that the waterbender usually liked reminiscing, even if it made her sad, Kya was amazed to realize her mother hadn't even said much. Instead, the old waterbender had stopped walking and was gazing at something in the distance. It was an odd, misshapen iceberg, but Kya knew instantly it had been her father's home for one hundred years when he was in suspended animation. But Katara was staring at it in amazement and Kya wondered what had happened.

"Something wrong, Mother?" She asked, gently. She expected Katara to laugh and wipe away a few tears as she almost always did when she saw Aang's iceberg, but instead, the old waterbender smirked and held the pendent of her necklace.

"Your father's making good on his promise," She chuckled.

Kya stared at the iceberg and then at her mother and raised an eyebrow. She didn't understand what Katara meant, but the older waterbender didn't elaborate and Kya didn't press her. Instead, they turned back and resumed walking.

Katara snuck one last glance over her shoulder, grinned, and waved, before following her children back.

A lone figure stood atop the iceberg, smiling softly, and watching Katara and her children walk. When the waterbender waved, he waved back and blew her a kiss. She simply smiled and returned the gesture before following her children home. Aang stood for some time, watching his family go until he could no longer see them. When they disappeared from sight, she sighed contentedly, knowing they were all okay, and turned to his friend.

"Let's go, Appa," He said, mounting his sky bison. "We'll see them again tomorrow."

Appa gave a grunt and together, they flew upwards, disappearing into the starry night sky.


	18. Amaranthine

_A/N: New chapter! Written for Day 5 of Kataang Week 2013. As with most of my pieces this week, I don't know how great this is, but I'll let you guys decide. Happy readings!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! ^^'_

* * *

_Day V: Candles_

* * *

**XVIII. Amaranthine**

"Kya, no waterbending in the house," Katara said, catching her daughter fiddling with her water from her peripheral vision. Katara had been trying and meeting with little success to get baby Tenzin into some clean clothes and Kya had taken the opportunity to bend her water about instead of drinking it. It'd have been cute if she wasn't getting the water everywhere.

"I'm bored," Kya whined. "When's Daddy coming back?"

"Soon," Katara promised, trying to slip Tenzin's tunic on him as he squirmed. "Hold still, little guy. I can't put this on with you squirming like that."

Tenzin squirmed more, but Katara slipped his clothes on just in time. Kya slid off her chair at the table and scurried over to her mother and her baby brother.

"Tenzin's squishy," she said, poking him gently and causing him to laugh.

"Be nice to your brother, Kya."

"When's he going to walk, Mommy?"

"Whenever he's ready to, sweetie."

"Tomorrow?"

Katara laughed. "No, not tomorrow."

"Will he walk for my birthday party tonight?"

"It'll be a couple of months before he's ready," Katara said, smiling at her daughter.

"Oh. Are we going to have cake, Mommy?"

"We'll see."

"Can I has cake?" Bumi demanded.

"Can I have cake, Bumi," Katara corrected, setting Tenzin down to play and getting up. Bumi trotted after her, following her into the kitchen. Tenzin came crawling behind him and Kya brought up the rear.

"You can have cake too, Mommy. I'll save some for you," He promised.

Katara laughed. "That's very sweet of you, Bumi."

From somewhere below, Tenzin cooed and grabbed at Katara's dress, hauling himself upright. He took one step, teetered, then fell face first onto the floor. Kya giggled as Tenzin drooled and laughed and then proceeded to repeat his actions. Katara watched him for five minutes, before picking him up and depositing him outside the kitchen.

"Someone won't get her birthday cake if you kids keep getting underfoot," she said, laughing. "Go play elsewhere until your father comes home."

"Is Uncle Sokka coming with Daddy?" Bumi wondered.

"He might," Katara said.

Kya brightened visibly. "Yay!" She cheered. "Uncle Sokka said he'd get me a kitty."

Katara, who'd been in the process of stirring her cake batter, nearly dropped it. Kya had always been fond of animals and she'd been bringing as many as she could into the house from the time she'd been able to walk. The last time they had an animal in the house, the house had been partially destroyed. Kya had somehow managed to coax a sky bison calf indoors and had fed it some milk and played with it while her mother had been outside doing laundry. When Katara came home, she nearly fainted at the sight of the calf eating her drapes and romping about the house. Getting the poor thing out had been even tougher and it had gotten stuck in the doorway. It took the combined efforts of Aang, Katara, and an Air Acolyte to get the calf out and since then, Katara had banned Kya from bringing animals indoors. She hoped Kya hadn't been asking her brother for pets as another means of getting animals in the house.

"You haven't been bugging Uncle Sokka, have you?" Katara wondered.

Kya shook her head vigorously. "No, but he promised me a kitty cat."

"No kitties, Kya."

She pouted. "But, Mommy…!"

The waterbender sighed.

"I want a dragon," Bumi said, grinning. "Then I could fly around and earthbend."

"Dragons don't earthbend, sweetie," Katara said, adding some ingredients to her bowl. Bumi watched her stir for a minute and then piped up.

"But I wanna be an earthbender like Aunt Toph. Then I can catch bad guys!"

He made several odd noises interspersed with whams and whooshes and Katara couldn't help laughing.

"Aunt Toph doesn't quite catch bad guys like that. But you could be a cop, if you wanted."

"Do cops go to school?" Bumi wondered. Katara nodded and set the cake into the oven, and smiled when Bumi made a face.

"Almost everyone does."

Bumi looked less than pleased, but he brightened when Katara muttered something about sugar. He'd have followed his mother into the pantry to examine and taste their sugar, which he loved doing, but the front door opened and Kya squealed in delight and Bumi all but ran to see what his older sister was so happy about. He exited the kitchen just in time to see his uncle scoop up his sister.

"Happy birthday, Squirt," Sokka said, grinning at Kya. "How's my favorite waterbender?"

Kya giggled. "Did you bring me a present?"

Sokka cast a glance at his brother-in-law. "She doesn't beat about the bush, does she?"

Aang shook his head, suppressing a laugh. Sokka handed Kya a neatly wrapped package, which the little waterbender poked several times.

"It's not a kitty," she said, dejectedly.

"No, it's not," Sokka agreed. "But, you might like it anyway."

The little waterbender undid the wrappings and pulled out a little, blue parka. She ran her small hands over it reverently and hugged her uncle.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She cried, beaming at him. Sokka just laughed and set her down.

"Hope you like it, Kya. It used to be your mom's."

Kya gasped and looked at Katara, who seemed sad yet happy. It'd been a good many years since she'd seen that little parka her own mother had made for her.

"Where'd you find it?" Katara demanded.

"Dad had it," Sokka said. "He kept some old stuff of ours and Mom's and he sent it out to me a couple of weeks ago and thought I should give it to you or Kya. I figured since you've outgrown it, I could give it to this little one." He tugged on Kya's braid and she giggled. "Besides, I figured you'd want her to have it."

Katara nodded. "It's her size anyway and I'm sure Mom would've wanted her to have it too."

Both fell silent for a while, but then Sokka suddenly gasped and rushed out to retrieve something. When he returned, he was carrying an odd looking box with a strange tube-like device on top.

"You remember that thing the papers were talking about last month? Some new instrument some guy invented?"

"The phonograph, I think," Katara said. "What about it?"

Sokka sat the device down and grinned. "This is it. It plays music. But that's not really why I got it. Look at this."

Katara and Aang waited as he withdrew a rather large envelope and showed them the cover. It was a record case and the band name written on top was one they'd all been acquainted with.

"The Flameos," Aang exclaimed. "Who knew?"

"They're a popular band according to the guy at the music shop. And there are a couple of surprises for you inside." Sokka said, smiling. "Hope you enjoy them."

"Aren't you going to listen to it with us?" Katara wondered.

"I already have. The owner of the music shop I bought it at was playing some music from their record. That's how I ended up with the thing in the first place."

"Are you going to stay for my birthday party, Uncle Sokka?" Kya asked, clinging to him.

Sokka chuckled and knelt down so he was eye-level with Kya.

"I'd love to, Squirt, but there's a storm brewing and it looks nasty. I better get back home or your aunt will worry."

Kya gazed out the window and was disappointed to see her uncle was right. Dark, gray clouds hung low over the horizon and it looked as if the skies would open up any minute. The air outside was muggy too and it seemed as if a thunderstorm was brewing. Kya sighed and looked dejected but seemed happy enough when her uncle promised they'd have another party for her in a few days' time.

"And you'll bring me a kitty?"

"We'll see," Sokka said, winking at her as he left.

Kya pressed her forehead against the window and watched as her uncle left and sighed.

"How are we going to party now?" She wondered.

"We'll make do," Aang assured her, hoping she'd feel better. Kya's smile faded and when a loud clap of thunder sounded overhead, her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Now we can't celebrate," She said, sniffling.

"Sure we can," Aang said. "We can have a dance party. How does that sound?"

"A dance party?" The little waterbender echoed.

Aang nodded. "Your mom and I danced at a party in a cave once."

Kya's blue eyes lit up and she brushed away her tears. "I want a cave party!"'

"I don't think we can find a cave right now, but we can have a similar party indoors."

Kya trotted after Aang as he ducked into one of the rooms and returned with a handful of candles. With precision firebending, he lit each one and placed them around the room while Katara moved the children's toys and furniture. In a half hour, the common room was glowing in the soft light of hundreds of candles, placed well out of the children's reach. The furniture had been pushed back to create a wide open space in the center of the room and on a side table, Aang had placed the phonograph and was putting the record in.

"What're we going to do now?" Kya asked, gazing at all the candles.

"You'll see," Aang said, winking.

"It says here, that the Flameos were inspired to spread their music by Kuzon and friends," Katara said, balancing Tenzin on her hip and scanning the small note in the record case. Her cerulean eyes flicked up to meet her husband's and they both grinned.

"Who's Kuzon?" Bumi asked, jumping up and down to catch a glimpse of what his mother was reading. Aang lifted him up to see while he explained. When he was finished, Kya demanded that her parents show them the dance.

"But we don't have the music," Katara pointed out.

The words had just left her mouth when a familiar tune started playing and Katara gaped.

Aang held out his hand to her and, smiling brightly, Katara took it. It had been many years since she'd danced this dance with Aang, but he found the steps just as easy to do. It seemed almost natural, dancing with Aang, and for a few minutes, Katara almost forgot all about her children watching them with wide eyes as they twirled and flipped and spun about the room. But when the song ended, Kya and Bumi cheered and clamored for lessons. So, the five spent the rest of the evening dancing to the music of the Flameos and when they got tired, there was a small birthday feast for the little waterbender followed by cake and more dancing.

It was nearly midnight by the time Kya and Bumi wore themselves out. Normally, Katara and Aang wouldn't even have considered letting them stay up late, but since it was a special occasion, they'd consented just this once. So the two youngsters had danced the night away, all thoughts of the storm forgotten. By the time they'd fallen asleep, the storm had passed and the record had finished playing for the fourth time.

Tenzin was asleep in his bassinet, so Aang took Kya and Katara took Bumi and the two parents tucked them into bed before wandering back outside to the sitting room, where their shadows danced in the flickering candlelight.

"I'm bushed," Katara laughed, flopping down on the settee.

"Too tired to even dance one last dance?" The airbender wondered, holding out his hand for her.

"Never," was the waterbender's reply as she took it. A soft, soothing melody echoed across the room as she and Aang danced. Katara forgot about her tiredness or her sore feet and nearly everything. The only thing she was conscious of was the feel of Aang's arms wrapped around her and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. When the song ended, they both pulled away and Katara smiled, leaning up to give the airbender a kiss.

"Thank you," she said softly. "I enjoyed that."

"Me too."

The two lapsed into silence for a moment, before Aang used his airbending to extinguish the candles.

"It's late," he noted. "We should probably follow the kids' example and go to bed."

"You forgot one candle," the waterbender said, picking it up.

"Well, make a wish," Aang said.

Katara laughed and blew out the flame.

"What'd you wish for?"

"That things would always be this perfect, forever. What would you wish for?"

"I don't need to wish for anything," he said, lacing his fingers with Katara's. "I have everything I need right here."


	19. Convalescence

_A/N: New chapter! Written for Day 6 of Kataang Week. As with almost all of my entries, this one is rushed and I feel like it's horribly lacking and needs a lot of work to be even decent, but if it was up to me, I'd edit it forever because I'll probably never be satisfied with it. ^^' Anyway, I hope this isn't too awful a chapter! Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. _

* * *

_Day VI: Healing_

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**XIX. Convalescence**

Bato knew many things. He knew how to fish in the most dangerous places in the South Pole, how to dodge the massive icebergs and other obstacles in the turbulent waters, how to hunt, how to cook, and more. He was good at solving problems and getting out of sticky situations because he knew how to use what was available to his advantage. He knew an endless amount of things from survival skills to local gossip, but he was quite surprised to discover that when Sokka and Katara returned to the South Pole, after almost two years of travelling, they came with the Avatar in tow. He'd assumed the Avatar would've been needed elsewhere and would've forgotten about the small village that was the Southern Water Tribe, but to his surprise, Avatar Aang was greeting most of the villagers as if they'd been friends forever and asking after them.

Bato watched the chief's children and their friend talk for a while, marveling at how much they'd all changed. When he'd last seen Aang, the Avatar had been incredibly busy with work regarding the new United Republic and he'd only spent a day in the South Pole to drop off Sokka and Katara before he'd rushed back. Now, he seemed much less stressed and more relaxed and judging by the pack he carried, Bato supposed it was safe to assume he was staying. Sokka and Katara also carried similar packs, he noticed. Dressed in their parkas, the siblings (who'd grown a good deal since their last visit) were almost unrecognizable, but when he saw Hakoda greet them, he knew immediately who they were. Sokka had grown taller and leaner and Bato suspected it wouldn't be too long before he towered over them. Katara had also grown taller and she was looking more like Kya than Bato would've imagined. Even Aang, who'd been a scrawny, little kid when Bato had first met him had shot up in height and had filled out. Bato imagined he and Sokka had a lot of girls vying for their attention.

Smiling to himself, he decided he'd visit the children, young adults really, later. He had some fishing to do for his next meal and some things that needed to be fixed around the house. If he worked fast, he'd be able to see them in no time at all, he reasoned, but he was mistaken. His work kept him occupied for a week, and he didn't get to see Sokka much. When he met Katara, it was under unpleasant circumstances.

His week had been relatively uneventful until he and some other men had gone hunting. They expected, and managed to get, a good catch but not before their prey managed to maul a couple men. Bato considered himself relatively lucky in that he only suffered a broken leg. He assumed that he'd have to spend a few weeks at home, but much to his surprise, Katara came to visit him shortly after the incident. When he asked her why she was there, she smiled and explained to him that she could speed up his recovery. He'd heard about her healing abilities, but since she had never talked about it herself and since he had never seen her heal anyone, he'd passed it off as rumors. But now that she was here, actually healing his leg, he was slightly surprised. In all the time he had known Katara, he wouldn't have guessed that she was a healer.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, noticing he was watching her intently.

"No," Bato replied, chuckling. "I guess I'm just surprised is all. I always knew you'd become an excellent waterbender, but I'd never have been able to guess you'd be a healer as well, though I probably shouldn't be surprised. Your mother was an excellent healer, though she didn't have your ability."

Katara just smiled.

"So," Bato wondered, flexing his leg once she was all done. "How long will I have to stay off it?"

"A few weeks," Katara replied. "But you should be able to do your normal activities. Just don't go hunting for a while. You'll just have to do the rest of the healing naturally."

Bato laughed. "I certainly won't."

True to his word, Bato didn't. He spent his days within the confines of his house, mostly hopping around on one foot to do his everyday chores. Every few days, Katara came to check on him and usually brought him food and other necessities that Hakoda had sent with her and the Water Tribesman was immensely grateful that he had such good friends. It certainly wasn't easy to watch the other men go on hunts together or fishing trips, but with his broken leg, there wasn't much he could do. So he spent most of his time sitting in front of the hearth with some old books he had or occasionally, chatting to the few tribesmen that dropped by to see him now and then. It was nice to hear the latest news about how the tribe was prospering, how Pakku's waterbending school was doing well, and the latest gossip, even if he wasn't one for it. He was slightly surprised to discover there was a lot of talk going on about Katara and he privately wondered if Hakoda knew that. Knowing Hakoda, he probably did know, Bato supposed, but he made a mental note of checking with Hakoda in person.

By the time he was actually able to go see Hakoda in person, another week had passed. The two men were taking a break from going over some proposals to expand certain sections of the newly rebuilt city. The sun was shining brightly overhead making the white surface of the snow sparkle like diamonds caught in the sunlight. In the distance, out on the rolling, blue waters of the ocean, several young boys were partaking in ice dodging ceremonies. Normally, as chief, Hakoda presided over them, but there really wasn't much need for him to do that, so he and Bato just watched and exchanged small talk.

"Have you heard the latest gossip?" Bato wondered, suddenly changing the subject.

Hakoda just laughed. "I thought you didn't listen to that kind of stuff."

"I don't," Bato admitted. "But I've been holed up in my house for days on end, so I didn't have anything better to do. I just thought you'd know because a lot of it concerns Katara."

"I've heard most of it," Hakoda admitted, smiling at his longtime friend.

"And you're not upset?" Bato mused.

"It's just gossip," Hakoda replied. "Not all of it is true."

"But some of it is?"

Hakoda smiled, mysteriously. "Why don't you ask my daughter yourself?"

Bato chuckled. "She might decide to break my other leg, don't you think?"

The chief shook his head. "No, probably not. You're no stranger."

Bato just laughed. "Well, we'll see."

Katara came to visit him that evening, bringing a pot of stewed sea prunes that Kanna had made for him and some arctic hen. Bato graciously accepted the food and invited her into the small, tidy hut he called home.

"How's your foot?" Katara wondered.

"Much better thanks to you," He replied, smiling. "Your healing worked wonders."

Katara smiled. "Well, I'm glad I could help."

"Would you like some?" Bato wondered, gesturing the food Katara had brought.

The waterbender chuckled. "Are you kidding? Gran Gran's cooked enough to feed an army; we've got so much at home. I just came by because Dad said you wanted to talk to me and to give you the food."

"Oh, it's nothing important," Bato admitted. "I was just curious about all these rumors floating around about you. I wanted to hear the truth from you."

"Well, I'm not married," the waterbender stated, grinning. "I don't know who thought I was, but I'm not."

"No?"

"Not yet, but soon, I hope."

Bato nodded.

"Will you come, Bato?"

"Where?"

"To my wedding?"

"Would you ever let me live it down if I didn't?" He chuckled. Katara shrugged. "I'll try my best."

"I hope you can make it. It'd mean a lot to us."

Bato looked startled. "Us? You mean, you've already…you're already engaged and planning the wedding? I didn't think you'd found anyone. I mean, you father hadn't told me you…" He noticed he was rambling and abruptly broke off. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Aang," was the waterbender's response.

"The Avatar?" Bato demanded, gaping at her. "I had no idea…"

Katara shrugged. "We're not keeping it a secret but we don't publicize it very much either."

Bato slapped his knee. "Well, I'll be!" He exclaimed. "I knew you always had good taste."

Katara laughed. "I'd like to think so too. But, I can't say the same. Aang could've had any girl he wanted and yet, he chose me."

"Well, if he loves you, why do you doubt it?"

The waterbender laughed at that. "I don't. Aang doesn't let me. He tells me at least a dozen times a day how much he loves me."

"You'd be hard pressed to find a guy like him around," Bato replied, smiling.

Katara nodded. "After Mom died, I didn't think things would ever get better. I thought the war would never end and our family would just ache and ache forever, that we'd never heal after her passing. I remember thinking to myself that as long as I lived, I'd never be happy again."

Bato shrugged. "You were very young," he offered. "It's understandable."

"I know, but there was a time I was convinced that I'd never heal after losing my mother. But after Sokka and I met Aang, well…I don't know how he did it. You remember how I couldn't even talk about Mom?" Bato nodded, solemnly. "With Aang, it was easy to open up. For some reason, it didn't seem so painful talking to him about Mom. Even now, it doesn't really. And, in a way, he's helped fill the void Mom left."

"Well, then you've certainly picked the right guy to marry," Bato chuckled.

Katara smiled. "I think so. So, you'll definitely come our wedding?"

"Wouldn't miss it," he replied, winking.

Later that night, as Katara and Aang sat outside and watched the stars, the waterbender mentioned Bato's attendance.

"That's one more guest to add to the list," She chuckled.

"This wedding planning stuff seems like a chore," Aang said. "But it'll be worth it once it's over."

The waterbender hummed in agreement.

"Bato and I were talking about you, you know?" She said.

Aang raised an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?" He teased.

Katara shook her head. "Not at all. But talking to him about you reminds me that a huge thank you is very much in order. So, thank you."

The airbender blinked. "What for?"

"For everything. Before I met you, I struggled to get through each day. But you really taught me how to live and how to cope with losing my mom. You healed me, so…thank you. It's a lousy way to repay the favor, but I just wanted to let you know. I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for you."

"It's not," the airbender said. "I think you've repaid it in full, after all you've done for me."

"I don't think I healed you the way you healed me," Katara objected.

"That's not true. You've healed me literally and figuratively too. It's thanks to you I'm even alive right now. And, until I met you, I didn't even know what being the Avatar was about. You helped me with all that and more, including getting over the loss of my people. It's a loss I'll always feel, but you've helped make it less painful. So really, you've healed me as much as I healed you."

"We're even then," Katara said, grinning.

"Even," the Avatar agreed, grinning back.

The two lapsed into silence before Aang spoke again.

"When I was growing up at the Southern Air Temple, the monks always said that kindness, compassion, and love heal all. I passed it off as an old saying that they'd repeat to make sure everyone followed the proper code of conduct. I don't think that's quite what they meant by it, but, as always, they were right. If it weren't for you, I don't think I'd have ever healed after everything's that happened or recovered from Azula's attack."

Katara simply scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, relaxing as his arm wrapped around her. She knew the monks were right because she'd experienced, firsthand, the power of love. Aang's presence alone was enough to heal her, both literally and figuratively speaking. And since they'd met, he'd been sewing the gaping hole in her heart shut. Nothing could erase the pain of losing her mother but, somehow or other, Aang managed to fill the void her mother left behind, albeit it fill it in a different manner.

"Do you remember," Katara asked, suddenly. "You once asked if I could teach you the art of healing."

"You never did," Aang laughed. "I should probably go to the North Pole to learn it."

"You don't need to," Katara said. "You're already a healer. Not the traditional sort, of course, but you're a healer in your own right."

Aang shrugged. "I don't know about that," He said, modestly. "I don't think anything I've done counts as healing, but you're the expert on it, so if you say it is, I'm not going to argue against you." He chuckled and drew her closer.

Katara smiled up at him. Vaguely, she wondered if having a soul mate entailed having one person who could repair you no matter the circumstances. She always thought she'd turn to family for anything, that her father and brother and grandmother would be the ones to help her get through all the hardships and obstacles life through at her. She'd never dreamed she could ever find someone to stand by her through thick and thin and help fix her when she needed it the most. But Aang seemed to be doing just that. They'd been through so much together and only now, Katara realized how much they relied on each other to get through the obstacles in life. It wasn't easy sometimes, but they had each other for support. There were guaranteed to be hardships in life and they wouldn't be resilient to all of them. But, Katara knew as long as they were together, they could face anything. Together, it really seemed as if they were invincible.


	20. Holding on to Love

_A/N: Here's the final chapter for Kataang Week 2013! It's been a pleasure to participate in and such fun to write for! I only hope I can plan better for it next time around; I was a little late jumping on the bandwagon, so all my entries were rather rushed. I'm a little late in getting this one up, but I hope it's decent! Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. _

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_Day VII: Protection_

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**XX. Holding on to Love **

Zuko stood on the docks of Air Temple Island and grinned. The last time he'd visited Air Temple Island, it had been virtually uninhabited and hadn't even been named. Aside from the sky bison there, there was only a tiny little shack that passed for Aang and Katara's house as they drafted plans to rework the entire place into the newest of the Air Temples. Now, however, the island was practically unrecognizable. From his vantage point on the docks, the firebender could see the training grounds, the tall spire of the temple rising high into the sky, and part of the Air Acolyte dormitories. All in all, it looked amazing. Zuko would've liked to stay and explore the island since his duties never allowed him much free time, but he knew he hadn't a chance of doing so. He and Aang were expected to attend a series of conferences with leading officials and dignitaries from around the world, so any chance of staying and spending time with his friends was out of the question. Sighing, the firebender passed a hand over his face and turned his gaze just in time to see Aang and Katara wave to him. He waved back and walked forward to greet them. Before he could get a word in, however, something large descended from the sky and the next thing Zuko knew, he was on the ground and Appa was towering over him.

Zuko's guards, who'd been waiting on the ship he'd arrived on, looked shocked and hurried to assist their monarch. Appa seemed to take no notice of the weapons being pointed at him and nuzzled the Firelord. Zuko just laughed and patted the beast.

"Nice to see you too, Appa," he said, standing up. The sky bison grunted in response and lumbered over to Aang and Katara.

"Sorry about that," Aang said, sheepishly. "Appa gets really excited when we get visitors. Aside from Sokka, Suki, and Toph, we don't get very many."

Zuko just shrugged to say it was all right and his guards lowered their weapons and retreated to the vessel.

"So, are we ready to go?" Zuko wondered.

Aang nodded. They'd already agreed the two of them would travel together by ship to Omashu, where the conference was going to take place. The trip would give them much needed time to catch up and to go over some things together.

"I don't think I'll ever be ready," Aang said, glumly. "But, we might as well go and get it over with."

Katara watched her husband grimace. It was no secret the airbender disliked meetings that took him so far from home. It wasn't so much the work he had that bothered him; more than anything he hated leaving Katara by herself, though Katara didn't understand why. They'd had this debate plenty of times and Katara tried her best to convince him that she didn't mind being left alone. But afterwards, they both admitted they disliked being put into such situations. Katara would've gone to the conference herself it she'd been able to, but now that the Air Acolytes had settled in, there was so much to do. As the Avatar's wife, she was in charge of running Air Temple Island with Aang so, naturally, when he went away on business, all responsibilities fell to her. She'd have plenty to do while the airbender was gone.

"I'll be back soon," Aang promised, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a chaste kiss. "Promise me you'll stay out of trouble?"

"Me?" The waterbender laughed. "What about you? You're not going to ride the delivery chutes in Omashu, are you?"

Aang chuckled. "Not without you. It's no fun otherwise."

Katara laughed. Zuko looked terribly confused, but he didn't say anything.

"I'll leave Appa with you," Aang said, smiling at his animal guide. "Keep an eye on her, buddy."

Appa nodded and Katara, who just laughed and pushed him away.

"Honestly, you're so overprotective sometimes, Aang." She said, smiling and shaking her head.

"And where would you be if I wasn't?" He demanded.

"Probably lying dead somewhere," she admitted. It was no secret she and Aang had had their fair share of narrow misses. There'd been several instances where both of them could've died and they probably would have, if they hadn't been watching each other's back. "I guess you have a point."

The airbender just smiled softly and kissed her again. "See you soon. Be safe."

"I will," the waterbender called, waving after Zuko and Aang as they boarded the vessel and set sail for Omashu.

Katara stood on the docks and watched the ship speed away until it was out of sight, before turning to Appa and leaning against him.

"I guess it's just you and me now, Appa."

Appa grunted and licked her again, before gently nudging her back in the direction of the house. Katara sighed and ambled up the pathway, dreading the days ahead.

The waterbender soon found that Appa had taken Aang's words to heart. Appa had always been fiercely protective of Aang, but the waterbender was shocked to discover Appa acting the same way towards her. Appa had always accepted her and had always been protective of all of Aang's friends. But, the waterbender was surprised to note Appa had literally followed Aang's instructions and kept an eye on Katara at all times. The waterbender had trouble doing anything that involved going outdoors; the instant she set foot outside of the house, Appa trailed her like her second shadow. At first, Katara thought it was endearing. But, when Appa prevented her from swimming in the bay waters or climbing trees to harvest the ripe fruit, Katara didn't know what to think. She'd never seen Appa act like that and whenever he did something like that, she always chided him, gently. But Appa didn't seem to mind. If Katara did something he thought was too dangerous, he'd gently grab her by her tunic and pull her away; the waterbender was no match for a ten ton flying bison.

At first, Katara had put up with Appa's antics, but when they became a bit too much, she resorted to sneaking out and trying to avoid Appa to get things done. She supposed she was foolish for thinking she could escape Appa, but she tried all the same. She wasn't successful and in the end, Appa had resorted to abandoning the stables in favor of camping outside their house. When Katara went to bed at night, Appa was slumbering just outside her window. If she so much moved to get a glass of water, he was at the front door, waiting to stop her from exiting.

The waterbender soon found Appa had good reason for being so protective of her. One evening, while she and Appa wandered outside, they found a dagger lying among some bushes. The Air Acolytes often refrained from carrying weapons around and they hadn't been using any as of late, so Katara was wary of it. She was justified in being so; later that week, three burglars posing as Air Acolytes had attempted to break in and get to Katara so they could use her as leverage against Aang in return for something. The waterbender had managed to force them out of the house and Appa took care of the rest. The only downside to that was that after the incident, Appa hovered about her like a leech and refused to let her stray more than a few hundred feet from him. Katara didn't mind so much after the attempted break-in. She'd been a little rattled and gladly welcomed Appa's protectiveness since Aang wasn't there. When the airbender returned and heard the news, he was furious with himself.

"I should've been here," he said, angrily. "You could've gotten hurt."

"There's no way you could've foreseen this, Aang," Katara said, gently. "And I can take of myself. Besides, Appa was a big help. He really took your words to heart; wouldn't leave me alone for two seconds."

Aang smiled at his companion and patted him affectionately. "Thanks for keeping an eye on her, buddy. I owe you one."

Katara rolled her eyes. "I'm not glass, Aang. I don't break."

"I know," he acquiesced, smiling apologetically. "I know you probably hate my guts for treating you like some fragile thing when we both know you're far from it and perfectly capable of looking after yourself. It's just…you mean the world to me, Katara, and I know it sounds incredibly cheesy, but it's true all the same. I'm just worried about losing you."

"We all worry about losing the ones we love," Katara replied. "But don't you think this being protective thing is a bit much? I mean, we've always protected each other and made sure we're both okay, but having Appa follow me around like a shadow is a bit excessive, don't you think?"

Aang laughed. "He must really like you then, because I only told him to keep an eye on you, not follow you every waking moment. And maybe it's a bit excessive but, honestly, I'm grateful that he did. You're worth holding on to and if keeping you safe means having Appa become your new shadow, then I'll gladly tell Appa to watch you every time you go away. I never want anything bad to happen to you."

Katara wanted to be the tiniest bit cross with him, but she found she couldn't. It was awfully hard to be angry with the airbender when he said such wonderful things like that. So, instead, she just threw her arms around him and kissed him, feeling like the luckiest woman alive to be blessed with such a wonder husband and best friend. At that moment, it was quite possible there was no happier couple in the world.

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_Thanks for reading and, as always, thanks for all the reviews and support! You're all so wonderful!_

_~ Cassidy Alice_


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